Snuff
by The Smoose
Summary: Sequel to 'River' and based on The Avengers: Civil War. You don't need to read either, but 'River' would at least explain things. It's been ten years since Tony left, and now SHIELD has a secret agenda. Can we really trust the people who protect us?
1. Chapter 1

Right, so this is based on the series of comics _Civil War_. You don't have to have read it as everything is explained in the fic that has any reference to it.

Also, this is the sequel to River! Yay!

Finally, I want to thank the fantastic author **saichick**. She's really helped inspire me to write this and her advice has helped a whole bunch. I really implore you to go read Reality of Life With A Superhero because it's awesome, truly.

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing mentioned in this fic. None of the characters are mine, none of the places mentioned are mine. Hell, the idea is barely mine. Thanks to Marvel Universe Wiki and Marvel Comics Database for much of the character background.**

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_July, 2020_

Pepper knew she was in for a bad day as soon as she woke up.

Her alarm had for some reason refused to go off, making her a whole half hour late in rising. Her boyfriend, Robert, had complained that she woke him while she rushed around like a headless chicken, she didn't have time to grab any breakfast, nor did she have time to get any on the way to work.

And then there was the scary ass woman standing directly outside her front door when she opened it. That didn't help either.

"Can I help you?" Pepper asked her, trying to take inventory on the situation. The woman was around 5'10" with a crop of short black hair and one of the creepiest smiles Pepper had ever seen. There was an equally scary looking person standing next to the woman wearing some kind of gas mask and wielding what looked like an Uzi on steroids, and there seemed to be some kind of frigging huge space ship in the sky.

"Miss Potts, my name is Maria Hill, I'm the Director of SHIELD." She held out her hand to Pepper, who shook it. "I have some important information that I need to share with you, may I come in?"

'Uh, no' was the first response that entered Pepper's head, but she settled for "I'm actually running late for work, so-"

The woman smiled wider. "I won't be taking up much of your time." She interrupted.

Pepper raised an eyebrow. "I don't really approve of guns in my house." She gestured to the grunt standing next to Maria. Maria turned her head and nodded at the grunt, who turned and walked a short distance away from the house before stopping and standing guard again.

"Better?" Maria asked.

Pepper didn't like this woman.

She stepped aside and let Maria into her home. Maria uttered and thank you and Pepper led her into the lounge area.

"Would you like a coffee or-"

"This isn't a social visit, it's purely business I'm afraid." Maria interrupted again.

Yeah, Pepper _really_ didn't like this woman.

"Ok, well like I said I'm in a bit of a rush so…"

"Of course." Maria dropped a file onto her coffee table and clasped her hands together on top of her knees. "I'd like to talk to you about Tony Stark."

The hair on the back of Pepper's neck stood on end, there were too many conversations that could lead with that name and she honestly didn't want to have any of them.

"What about him?" she asked.

Maria smiled again and opened the folder. "Well, let's start with the last time you saw him. When would that be exactly?"

"Ten years, seven months ago." Pepper answered immediately. Maria raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't even have to think about that, huh?"

Pepper's jaw tensed. "You tend to remember the day someone you love walks out of your life." She shrugged.

"Quite." Maria said. "So according to you, you haven't seen him since…December of 2009, correct?"

"Yes." Pepper said, her suspicions rising. "I haven't heard anything about him for nearly seven years; last I heard he was helping the war in Afghanistan." She watched as Maria noted this down. "Ms. Hill, what is this about? Is Tony in some kind of trouble?"

"You could say that." Maria said, not taking her eyes from her file. "Am I correct in thinking you are still dating Agent Robert Owens?"

"Yes." Pepper said yet again, beginning to get impatient. "Ms. Hill, I really am running late-"

"Forgive me, Miss Potts," she spoke over Pepper. "I promise we're nearly done. Now, what do you know of Project 42?"

Pepper was about to answer that she didn't know anything at all about it, when a male voice came from behind her.

"It's the Superhuman Registration Act." A tall, well built man with spiked up brown hair appeared in the doorway to the lounge. "Director Hill." He saluted Maria, who nodded back at him, and made his way over to sit next to Pepper, limping slightly as he went.

"Agent Owens." Maria acknowledged. "How's the leg?"

Robert smiled. "It's feeling a lot better, ma'am. I'd come back to base now if the medics would let me."

Maria laughed lightly. "Now, now, we want you all healed up before we throw you back into action, don't we?" Robert smiled politely back at her. "But I digress." Maria continued. "The SRA, do you know anything of it Miss Potts?"

Pepper shook her head and looked at Robert, who also shrugged. "That's about the extent of my knowledge as well; I'm not cleared to know anymore."

Maria placed her file back on the table and cleared her throat. "Project 42 was dreamed up by Director Fury in 2013. What it entails is the registration of those with naturally occurring superhuman abilities, abilities acquired through science or magic, and those non-super powered humans using exotic technology, like our man of iron." She smiled that creepy smile. "The American Government would then employ the registered super-humans to work alongside the law enforcement agencies across the country."

"Hey wait, I heard about that." Robert said. "Yeah, I joined SHIELD not long after this was first propositioned, but it was rejected because Fury was killed in action."

"That's what we told people." Maria said. Robert's eyebrows rose. Maria opened her file and handed both of them a thinner file which had a large red stamp across it stating the documents inside were classified to Level Nine.

"Jesus." Robert muttered. Pepper looked at him. "I thought there were only eight levels." He said.

"Officially, there are." Maria said. "Myself and my team are the only ones with Level Nine clearance, but you need to see this." The gestured for them to open the file and they were greeted with a mug shot of Tony and a bunch of papers to do with Project 42.

"Seven years ago," she continued. "Nick Fury submitted Project 42 to a small group of SHIELD higher ups, consisting of Tony Stark, Bruce Banner and myself. We were all on board and eager to start. Unfortunately, Tony wasn't." she indicated a document in the file with Fury's information on it. "The official story outside of Level Nine is that Fury was called away on a mission with Stark and Banner and they were ambushed, Fury was KIA and Stark and Banner were reported missing-"

"What?" Pepper snapped. "They're _missing_? Why hasn't anyone been told about this?"

"Honey, let her finish." Robert said soothingly to Pepper. She glared at him but let Maria carry on.

"Thank you, Agent Owens." She smiled that irritatingly cheerful smile again and continued. "Now, as I was saying, that was the official story. Unfortunately, the truth is a lot darker." She handed them some more documents on which was a grainy CCTV image of what looked like Iron Man using his repulsors on two other men. "After the proposal for Project 42 was put forward, Stark fought with Banner and Fury, arguing against the proposal. He wanted it withdrawn. When Fury refused, Stark killed him. And Banner." She indicated the images. "He then fled the SHIELD facility and has been in hiding ever since."

"Oh my God." Pepper gasped. "You have to be joking."

"I never joke Miss Potts." Maria said sternly. "This is deadly serious."

"Damn." Robert whispered, picking up the images and studying them. "I can't believe Iron Man killed Director Fury."

Pepper turned to glare at him and then immediately wished she hadn't as an image of Nick being thrown backwards by Tony's blast engraved itself across her brain. She took a deep steadying breath and tried to calm herself.

"Why did you survive?" she asked Maria.

"Fortunately, I was stationed at one of the ground level headquarters at the time." Maria replied.

"Why is all this coming to light now?" she asked after she'd taken a moment. "Why are you telling us this?"

Maria sighed and pulled out another folder from God knows where and placed it in front of Pepper.

"Miss Potts, the law states that when a person is declared missing for a period of seven years or longer, that person is declared legally dead." She withdrew a document from the folder. "I'm afraid today marks seven years and one week from the day Tony Stark fled and was declared MIA. As far as the United States Government is concerned, Tony Stark is dead." She pushed the document towards Pepper and she picked it up.

"What's this?" Pepper asked, voice barely above a whisper. Robert reached out and took her hand.

"Stark activated a code with his artificial intelligence unit within his home at some point, I believe it's 5253-7," she gestured to the document. "That code states that in the event of his death, you are the sole beneficiary. That document is his last will and testament."

Pepper stared at it. She was just able to make out the code that Maria had stated before she somehow lost the ability to read and her eyes became blurry. Robert gently took the document from her hands and scanned it quickly.

"Jesus, Pep, he's left you everything. The company, his house, his freaking money!"

"Unfortunately, due to the nature of his…'disappearance', all of Stark's funds were seized-"

"I don't care about his money." Pepper spat at Maria.

"Pepper." Robert warned but Maria raised her hands.

"It's fine, Agent Owens. Miss Potts has had quite a lot to deal with today." She gathered the scattered files and folded them away neatly under her arm. "I've taken up more than enough of your time but I believe I have addressed everything that was required. I'll see myself out."

"Will you be pushing this Project 42 thing again?" Pepper asked nervously.

Maria nodded. "Now that it's once again safe for us to do so without possible interference, yes, we will." She said. "We do recommend, however, that you hold a funeral for Stark, make it official. The story we're going with is that he was killed in action serving with the US Army." She'd reached the door before Pepper spoke again.

"You don't really think he's dead."

It was more of a statement than a question. Maria turned back to Pepper. "I think if Tony Stark were really dead, everyone would know about it." And with that, she opened the door and left.

Pepper had finished attempting to read the will and she laid it on the table in front of her before running a hand through her hair and over her face. "I don't believe this." She muttered.

"I know." Robert said. "Who'd of thought Tony Stark would actually kill the good guys."

"What?" Pepper said angrily. "Don't tell me you bought that bullshit."

"What do you mean?" Robert asked.

"Tony wouldn't do something like this." Pepper said as if this was the easiest thing in the world to grasp.

Robert shrugged. "Pepper, the evidence seemed pretty stacked against him."

Pepper stared at him and huffed disbelievingly. "This is ridiculous." She stood up and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Robert asked, standing up as well.

"Work? You know, that place I should have been at nearly an hour ago before GI Jane stormed in here?" Pepper replied sarcastically.

Robert sighed. "C'mon Pep, I think in light of what's happened you're entitled to a day off."

"When I woke up this morning, I was a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, and now I own the damn thing Robert," her voice was dangerously reaching towards screech mode. "Not only do I have that to sort out, but I have to now plan a funeral with no body, so I don't think I have time for a day off." And with that, she stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

Robert let out a groan of frustration and returned to the couch, flopping down on it a little harder than necessary. He gazed over at the will lying on the table.

"I don't get how you do it, Tony." He muttered. "You're not even alive any more and you're still getting to her."

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_Iron Man Laid To Rest_

_Today marks the death of a legend as the funeral of billionaire mogul, industrial giant and, of course, superhero extraordinaire Tony Stark takes place._

_Stark, who was working alongside our boys abroad, was killed in action last week according to official reports, and his body was escorted back under high security from the Government ally SHIELD. Little is known about the exact cause of death, and even less is known of the mission he was supposedly on, or indeed who killed him. One thing's for sure, this is one soldier who'll be sorely missed._

_According to Stark Enterprises, Stark left everything to his former partner and current CEO, Virginia 'Pepper' Potts, who has always maintained a very Tony-esque outlook on the company since the man himself left to join SHIELD over ten years ago, and the Board of Directors have reported they have every confidence that Potts will continue the excellent work she has always brought to the company._

_The funeral will be held at Our Lady of Malibu Catholic Church._

"God, this is going to be a nightmare." Pepper mumbled, throwing the paper aside. She was sitting in the back of her car, head in her hands, as Happy drove at snails pace following the Hearse containing Tony's empty coffin. She'd managed to arrange everything; service, cremation, even the measurements of the coffin, without revealing that actually, they didn't have a body to put in it.

Unfortunately, with the press release of Tony's 'death', reports had come in that hundreds of people were now lining the street outside Our Lady of Malibu church, waiting for them to turn up. The church itself was closed off and only Pepper, the Board of Directors and a few colleagues he'd been close to were actually allowed inside, but as they turned the corner onto Winter Canyon Road, Pepper saw the sheer mass of looky-loo's stretched along the entire stretch of road. Thankfully, word had gotten round early enough for security to be arranged and some barriers to be put up along the street.

"Calm down, we'll be fine." Robert said, taking her hand.

It seemed he spoke too soon, as all of a sudden, someone threw something at the Hearse.

"Oh my God, they are _not_ throwing things at a dead man's coffin!" Pepper screeched. She watched in horror as a few other people did exactly the same thing. "Happy, stop the car." She didn't wait for him to do so before she threw open the door and stepped outside.

Her anger disappeared almost immediately. The people were still launching things at the car, but as she looked closer, she noticed they weren't rocks or bits of trash or anything, they were…

"Roses?" Robert's voice came from behind her. Evidently he'd stepped out of the car as well. "They're throwing roses at the car?"

Even more people were throwing them now, the Hears was practically covered in them and the driver was having to use the windscreen wipers to be able to see where he was going. No one was yelling anything or clamouring to see the coffin, they were all just silent, some even bowing their heads in prayer.

"It's a sign of respect." Someone said from behind the barrier. Pepper and Robert turned and found it was a middle aged woman, holding a rose in one hand and balancing a young boy on her hip with the other. "Tony Stark served with our soldiers, our sons and husbands. As far as we're concerned, he's a hero."

She handed Pepper the rose she was holding and shuffled away through the crowd. Pepper stared at the rose and felt a lump rise in her throat. She quickly got back into the car and sat back in the seat, resting her head against the head rest and closing her eyes, breathing deep. She felt Robert get into the car and sit next to her, closing the door and telling Happy to drive on.

"Pep, you ok?" Robert asked softly.

Pepper opened her eyes and shook her head. "We're conning these people Rob." She muttered.

"We're not." Robert scoffed. Pepper glared at him. "Look, it's not like we're lying to them Pep, legally he is dead."

"Yeah, but we don't know that for sure."

"Pepper." Robert said sharply. "SHIELD doesn't get things wrong. If they think he's dead, he's dead."

Pepper raised her eyebrows. "Wow, you're really into that don't ask, don't tell thing huh?"

Robert shook his head and sighed, slumping back in his seat. "I know you want him to still be alive, but he just isn't." the car stopped as the finally reached the church and Robert jumped out immediately.

Pepper stared at the rose in her hands. Raising it to her nose, she took a long sniff and closed her eyes.

"Are you ok, Miss Potts?" Happy asked from the front of the car. She looked up and caught his eye in the rear view mirror. He winced slightly. "Sorry, stupid question."

"It's ok Happy." She sighed softly and smiled. "Come on, we'd better get inside."

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

I live in England, so all the weather and temperature information was provided by the internet in all its reliable glory.

Also, I meant for it to be July in the first chapter, not September. I don't know why I wrote September...

And just a quick shout out to 'ugh' who left a review for the last chapter. I would reply directly, but you reviewed anonymously. I appreciate you taking the time to read the first chapter, and you're quite right, you're entitled to read and review whatever you choose to, but I do ask if you're going to do so, try and actually _review_ the fic you're reading, rather than telling the author that you hate both comics and how the website combines the comic and movie worlds. And I hate to use that old chestnut 'if you don't like, don't read' but it still applies. If there's something wrong with the writing, by all means correct it, but telling the author you hate everything about their story really isn't helpful. It's a review, not a condemnation, and I couldn't really see anything directly relating to my fic in your review. No hard feelings though.

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the names of the Jets players Jeff O'Connell and 'Lewis'. I figured that in ten years, they probably wouldn't have the same players. I'm not too sure how Rhodey morphed into a douchebag, but that's what we've got here. Thanks to Marvel Universe Wiki and Marvel Comics Database for providing character background.**

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August rolled through Malibu with an extreme dry heat that still blindsided Pepper. Growing up in Connecticut, where the humidity could easily frazzle even the tamest hair, she revelled in the calm breeze that flowed through her open window. It was nice not to have to worry about carrying a brush or even a hat just in case. She rolled the window of her car up as Happy pulled round the front of Tony's Malibu mansion and the heat gripped at her instantly.

"Autumn weather my ass." She huffed, popping the door open of her oven on wheels and stepping into exactly the same conditions. Happy chuckled. A New York native himself, he wasn't bothered by the baking sun.

"You need me to come in with you?" he asked from the driver's seat.

"No, it's fine." Pepper smiled. "I only need a few files from the office; I'll be back in ten."

Happy watched as she walked up the remaining bit of driveway and into the house. As soon as she closed it behind her, he reached for the stereo and tuned it into the sports station.

"…and O'Connell takes the snap and holds it…holds it…holds- and there it goes! The pass is long and accurate, Lewis scores the touchdown and it's Jets – forty-seven, Bulls – thirty."

"Yes!" Happy punched his fist in the air and whooped. "Come on Jets!"

His grin quickly vanished when a scream ripped through the air. His fist landed on the horn in shock and he fumbled for the door handle, stumbling out of the car and speeding towards the house. He burst through the door and looked around.

"Pepper!" he called. The house looked just the same as it always did; there was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Oh my God!" he heard her yell again in the direction of the master bedroom. Happy's hair stood on end as he rushed towards the sound of her voice, throwing the door to Tony's room open.

His vision clouded with rage immediately. There was a scraggy looking man with long hair and a beard gripping Pepper by her elbows. Happy didn't even think before he ran at the pair, shoving Pepper out of the way and tackling the man to the ground. He pinned him to the floor with his knees and punched him in the face.

"Happy! Stop!" Pepper yelled. Happy, who had raised his fist ready to throw another punch, paused and swivelled to look at her. She rushed over to them and pulled Happy off the man.

"Pepper, what are you doing?" he asked, reluctantly getting off the man and rising to his feet. "Hey, you stay down buddy, I'm calling the cops." He said to the man who was trying to get up.

"No!" Pepper said, looking, if anything, worried. Happy scrunched his eyebrows together. She was staring at the man, who was attempting to get up again.

The grubby shirt he was wearing had come unbuttoned slightly.

"Oh my God."

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Pepper closed the front door behind her and looked around the foyer. She immediately noticed something was wrong. She'd left the newspaper from the day of Tony's funeral on the coffee table in front of the couch.

It wasn't there.

The hairs stood up on the back of Pepper's neck. She stepped forwards into the house and tapped her security code on the Jarvis alarm block to the left of the door. It beeped to let her know the code had been accepted.

"Good afternoon, Miss Potts, lovely to see you again." Jarvis said.

Pepper froze. Jarvis had been turned off since she'd moved out of the mansion ten years ago to save his memory and hadn't been turned on since. He should not have spoken to her.

"Jarvis." She muttered. "Who turned you on?"

"I don't know, Miss." Jarvis replied. "I was activated using Mr. Stark's code; however my facial recognition software did not register the person who entered the code."

Pepper gulped. The only person that knew that code other than Tony was her, and she didn't enter it.

"Is that person still in the house?" she asked, moving forwards and looking around for any other kinds of disturbances, or if available, some kind of weapon.

"Yes, Miss Potts. They are in the master bedroom." Jarvis replied.

Pepper gulped again. She slowly made her way towards the master bedroom. The thought about yelling for Happy, but her damn curiosity got the better of her. Why the hell was this person in the bedroom? There wasn't anything of value in there. Everything that wasn't in the safe in the basement had been put in storage long ago. She stopped outside the door and took a deep breath before cracking it open slowly. Poking her head around the door, she looked around.

There was a man lying on the bed, asleep.

She stepped through the door and stepped forward cautiously. The door swung shut and clicked into the frame. She froze as the man on the bed snuffled and moved. He turned over and slowly opened his eyes, groaning softly. He spotted Pepper and snapped awake, flinging himself off the bed and stumbling to his feet. Pepper was glued to the floor, unable to move as the man gaped at her. He had long black hair and a thick, short beard, and extremely dark eyes. Something in those eyes caught her and she stared.

"Pepper?"

It was Tony.

Pepper screamed.

"Pepper! Pepper, please calm down." Tony rushed around the bed and walked up to her.

"Oh my God!" she gasped, backing away from him.

"Pepper, calm down-"

"Oh my God!" her eyes were almost bugging out of her head and he grabbed her arms.

"Pepper, please-"

Tony's head snapped up as the door burst open. He barely had time to let go of Pepper before Happy pushed her out of the way and dragged him to the floor, knocking the wind out of him. He tried to speak, but Happy's fist connected with his face and he promptly forgot what he was going to say. He saw Happy raise his fist again and winced, waiting for it to connect, but then Pepper dragged him away. He tried to get up but Happy yelled at him to stay down. Not wanting to get on his bad side again, Tony did as he was told. He heard Pepper tell Happy not to call the cops and he managed to focus his vision enough to see them both staring at him. Seeing Happy was far enough away for it to be safe to get up again, he groggily got to his feet, the world spinning as he did so.

"Oh my God." Happy gasped. Tony teetered on his feet and stumbled slightly. Happy rushed forwards and caught him. "Mr. Stark…Jesus are you ok?" he assisted Tony over to the bed and sat him down.

"Ask me again in a minute." Tony mumbled, touching his jaw lightly where Happy's fist had struck him. "Damn, you can tell you used to box."

"Man, I'm sorry-"

"Don't sweat it." Tony said, shaking his head and blinking. "Why wouldn't you punch me?"

"Well what the hell do you expect?" Pepper asked. Both men turned to look at her.

"Nice to see you too Pepper." he chuckled darkly.

The next thing he registered was a slapping noise and the dull thud of pain in his jaw being replaced with a sharp stinging sensation. Putting the two things together, he realised Pepper had slapped him. Nice.

"Ok, what is this? Beat up Tony Day?" he asked, rubbing his cheek.

"You son of a bitch." Pepper said, her voice shaking slightly. "You think you can come back here after ten years and pretend everything's normal?"

"I didn't think there'd be this big a problem-"

"Tony, you're supposed to be dead!" she screeched. Both Tony and Happy winced.

"Yeah, I can see how that'd be a slight hurdle to jump-"

"SHIELD is still hunting you down."

"-again, bump in the road-"

"You freaking _killed _Bruce and Nick Fury and then went on the lamb!"

"What?" Happy looked completely shocked and backed away slightly. "You killed someone?"

"See, this is how rumours get started." Tony said, standing up. "That is definitely not true."

"So you didn't kill them?" Pepper asked, folding her arms.

"Exactly." Tony said.

"So why does everyone think you did?" Happy asked.

"It's a conspiracy." Tony spat. Pepper laughed darkly. "What? It is!"

She shook her head, still smiling. "Clearly, that must be why you're taking this so seriously."

Happy shifted uncomfortably. "I'm just gonna go wait in the car." He mumbled, stepping back slowly. When neither Pepper nor Tony stopped him, he made a break for it.

"Well?" Pepper said when they were alone. "Are you going to explain or just stand there?"

Tony raised a lone eyebrow. "Well how 'bout you explain just how you found out about all this SHIELD stuff? It's supposed to be classified ya'know."

"So I've heard." Pepper muttered. "Maria Hill came round for a visit, that's how I know."

Anger flashed across Tony's face. "Hill was here?" his eyes flitted around, as if checking she wasn't still there. "Did she touch anything?"

"No, she came to my house; none of your precious stuff was harmed." Pepper said. Tony's face fell somewhat.

"Your- you don't live here anymore?" he asked quietly.

"Why would I?" Pepper retorted. "And stop changing the subject and just explain what the hell is going on!"

Tony swallowed slowly. "Ok, um…well, what exactly did Hill tell you?"

Pepper sighed and walked over to the bed, sensing this to be a long conversation.

"She told me everything, Tony." She said once she'd sat down. "She said that Fury dreamed up this registration thing, that you didn't want it to happen and that when Fury and Banner refused to withdraw it, you killed them."

"And I bet she was conveniently elsewhere during this little story." Tony mumbled, running a hand through the coarse hair on his chin.

"She said she was stationed somewhere else." Pepper said. "Why? Was she there as well?"

Tony shook his head. "No, but she sure as hell framed me." He sat next to her on the bed. "Hill was the one who dreamt up Project 42 and submitted it to Fury. At the time, Banner and myself were working closely with Nick and Maria, who was just a field agent with high clearance at the time. When Maria submitted Project 42, she said it was one of a hundred ideas that her own team had thought up to make the world a better place." Tony laughed. "I'd hate to think what the rest of them were. Fury considered the proposition, but I was outraged by it. I managed to talk him round in the end, and Banner who wasn't too keen on the idea in the first place, so Fury denied the project. Maria was the one who went psycho, not me. She started arguing that not controlling 'freaks' like us who had the power to do anything they wanted was dangerous and that we'd regret it. Three days later, me and Bruce were working in one of the labs when we heard a commotion coming from an adjacent lab. We went to take a look and there was Fury, lying dead on the ground with a few Cape Killers standing over him-"

"Cape Killers?" Pepper spluttered.

"Maria's grunts." Tony clarified. "Officially, they're called the Superhuman Restraint Unit, but they've been given the name for…well, you can guess. Scary looking suckers, they wear gas masks usually and more weapons than you can shake a stick at. But they saw that Banner and I had seen and started firing at us. They got Banner. I ran down to my quarters, fired up the suit and got the hell out of there. I've been dodging them ever since."

Pepper stared at him. "But…that doesn't make sense. Why would she try and kill you and Banner? Why not just get rid of Fury if the final decision was down to him?"

Tony smiled sadly. "I was next in line to lead SHIELD after Fury, and there was no way in hell that Prop was going through with me in the way." He shook his head. "I can't believe they made her Director."

"That's another thing." Pepper said. "Why are you so adamant that Project 42 doesn't happen? I mean, you revealed yourself on national television-"

"Yeah," Tony interrupted. "And look where that's got me Pepper, pretending to be dead and hiding from the government and a bunch of superheroes." He stood up and paced around the room. "It made me a walking target; it made the people I love walking targets. You think after all the damage I've caused for myself I want that for other people? Sure, the logic behind the idea is sound, but the reality check is when you come home and your mother or your wife, or your baby are dead because the bad guys know exactly who you are and how to find you."

"But surely they'd have security measures put in place." Pepper said. "I mean, it's not like I'd be able to go and find out that information on the internet or something."

Tony snorted derisively. "Pepper, they killed their own leader to make sure this goes through, what makes you think they wouldn't sell information to the highest bidder? Or kill anyone that got in the way?" he shook his head. "I think this goes deeper than that anyway. Why would she be this extreme just to set up a register of superheroes?"

"Tony," Pepper interrupted his musings. "She had CCTV images of you doing it."

"What?" Tony span around and stared at her.

"I saw them." Pepper continued. "There were pictures of you…blasting Fury with your repulsors." She shuddered as the image played across her mind, still engraved behind her eyelids.

"She made fake evidence…but no one can replicate that kind of damage." Tony mumbled to himself again. "That means…that means no one ever saw the bodies. There's a huge difference between a gunshot and a repulsor blast…" he started pacing again.

Pepper was just about to speak when her cell rang. They both jumped and Pepper scrambled for her pocket, pulling out the offending item and flipping it open.

"Hello?"

"Pepper, where are you? I thought you were going to Stark's house to pick up some stuff?" Robert's voice rang through.

Pepper immediately made a shushing motion to Tony. "Uh, yeah, I'm still here. Just having a bit of trouble finding it is all."

"Oh, ok." Robert said. "Do you want me to come up and help?"

"No!" Pepper said, a little too quickly. "I mean, no, it's fine, I think…yeah, I must've left it at the office or something, it's not here."

"You sure?" he didn't sound convinced. "You said you looked all around the office first."

"It's fine, seriously." She said, biting her lip. "It's not majorly important, just a pain to have to search for everything all over again, but it doesn't matter."

"Well, if you're sure…"

"Totally." She said confidently. "I'll set off home in a sec."

"Ok, guess I'll see you in a few then."

Pepper said goodbye and then snapped the phone shut. When she looked up from it, Tony was staring at her.

"Boyfriend?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

"Boyfriend." She repeated.

"Good." Tony said. Pepper raised an eyebrow. "I mean, it's good that you have someone to…" he trailed off, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

Feeling anger bubbling up, Pepper took a deep breath and got off the bed. "I'm going home." She said and started walking towards the door.

"Pepper, you won't…you won't tell anyone I'm here will you?" he looked genuinely scared.

"You mean will I go around telling people there's a dead man hiding out in this house?" Pepper asked sarcastically. "No, Tony, I won't."

Tony nodded in thanks and she set off again.

"Does he make you happy?" he asked before she stepped back through the bedroom door. Pepper stopped in the frame but didn't turn around.

"He doesn't make me cry." She replied, and closed the door behind her.

She sped out of the house, completely forgetting to actually look for the file she'd come for, and got back in the car with a waiting Happy. He stared at her once she'd buckled herself in.

"What happened?" he asked tentatively.

Pepper sighed and shook her head.

"He's in trouble."

* * *

Pepper awoke the next morning hoping everything had just been a horrible nightmare, that she'd completely imagined everything the day before and that today would just be another Tony Stark-free day.

Unfortunately, life very rarely lets you get away with things like that, and the reality check came in the form of Rhodey swinging by her office that afternoon.

She'd been in the middle of re-typing the file she'd originally gone to Tony's to get the day before when he knocked on the door and let himself in.

"Knock-knock." He said, smiling as he entered.

To say she'd been happy to see him would have been an overstatement as they weren't exactly on speaking terms. Rhodey had left the Air Force a year after Tony had disappeared off the face of the Earth and had joined SHIELD. Somehow, and Pepper still wasn't sure how, he'd managed to 'borrow' Tony's Mark II suit, something she was sure Tony hadn't approved before he left, and as such they'd had a falling out. Rhodey had kept the suit and was now, subtly, calling himself 'War Machine' but they'd barely spoken in the last six years. She couldn't remember the last time she'd actually seen him face to face.

He didn't even come to Tony's 'funeral', and Pepper thought this visit might explain why.

"Rhodey." She acknowledged him as he entered, but she didn't rise to greet him. This didn't put him off and he plopped down in the chair facing her desk. "What brings you here, completely unannounced?" she smiled a little too sweetly and folded her arms on her desk.

"Oh, you know, just felt like a catch up." He rolled his head back, looking around her office.

"I'm sure." Pepper mumbled. Rhodey laughed at this and shrugged.

"Ok, so maybe this impromptu visit isn't so…spontaneous," he grinned, showing his teeth. "But throw me a bone here Pep."

'When did he get so conniving?' she thought. "You're completely right, I apologise Rhodes, we've got a good few years to catch up on, how the devil are you?"

"There, was that so hard?" he asked, still smiling. "I'm very well thank you Pepper, how're you?"

"Oh you know, the usual, working my fingers to the bone running a multi-billion dollar company, avoiding Government agents-"

"I heard about that." Rhodey interrupted.

"I'll bet you did." Pepper countered.

"Although 'agent' is a bit of a demotion." He continued as if she'd never spoken.

"Did she send you on some kind of fact finding mission or something Rhodes? Because to be honest, I expected you a lot sooner than this." Pepper said, turning back to her laptop and making some adjustments to the document she was typing up.

Rhodey laughed again and stroked his chin. "I've been…out of the country, and I told you, I just popped round for a catch up, but if you want to talk about that particular conversation…" he shrugged, as if to say he had no problem with it.

Yup, definitely devious.

"Would have thought your boss would've let you in on it." Pepper said, still not looking at him. "Don't tell me a military man like yourself doesn't know how to kiss ass to get what he wants."

Rhodey's expression darkened somewhat. "It's a little different up there than in the air force." He said shortly.

Pepper hummed in response. "I suppose you don't know about Tony's death then, seeing as we missed you at his funeral."

"Like I'd go to that traitor's funeral." He spat back at her. She raised her head victoriously.

"So you do know." Pepper said. Rhodey simply stared at her. She sighed and closed the screen on her laptop. "Fine, you want the scoop? Your Director came to my house and told me all about this Superhuman Registration Act, and then all this crap about Tony killing Nick Fury and Bruce Banner and then going on the run."

"It's not crap, Pepper." Rhodey said sternly. "SHIELD doesn't get things wrong."

Pepper laughed. "That's what Robert said."

"How is old Bob anyway?" Rhodey said smarmily. "Haven't seen him round base much."

Pepper's jaw set. "He's still off sick because of his leg."

"It's funny, really, because you'd think a veteran soldier would know to put the safety on a gun before holstering it-"

"You know, I'd expect one of his closest friends to be a little more sympathetic." She snapped "Is there something else you wanted, or can I have my office back?" she was done playing games with this dick biscuit version of Rhodey. How can someone she'd known so well have changed so much? What the hell do they do to people in that base?

Choosing to ignore her question, he ploughed on with one of his own.

"What do you think of Project 42?"

Pepper sighed and rubbed her forehead. "From what I've heard of it, it doesn't sound like the greatest idea in the world."

"What?" Rhodey asked, clearly thinking she was joking. "How can you think it's a bad idea?"

"Think of the security issues." Pepper reasoned. "I mean there's bound to be a day when someone snaps and gives away the information. Not even the Government is infallible."

Rhodey barked out a laugh at this. "You know, that sounds exactly like something Tony would say."

Pepper shook her head at him. "When did you become this person Rhodey?" she asked him. "When did you become the type of person to put orders before their friends and family?"

"Hey!" Rhodey snapped at her. "This is the way I was brought up. You get orders; you follow 'em, you don't ask questions. And it's not like Tony ever backed himself up, nothing says 'I'm innocent' like running from the law." He scoffed and stood up, preparing to leave.

"What if he was framed?" Pepper asked. "You ever think about that?"

Rhodey stared at her. "I don't believe you." He said exasperatedly. "I really do not believe you. After everything that man has done, after everything he's put us all through, put you through, you still stand by him."

"Yeah well, maybe I just believe in the good in people." She said.

Rhodey shook his head in disbelief. "There's only so long you can stand by a dead man." He with that, he turned on his heel and left, slamming the door after him.

Pepper let out a frustrated groan and slumped back in her seat.

"What the hell am I getting into?"

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Still not mine. Thank you once again to Marvel Universe Wiki and Marvel Comics Database, and also to my mum for the Swedish translation. This used to be two separate chapters, but after looking over both, I decided to cut a chunk out of chapter four and stick it in at the end of this. I think it flows a bit better now and there's some actual stuff a-happening.**

* * *

Tony sprang awake when the sound of the front door opening and shutting resounded through the empty house. Having swapped sleep in favour for researching and planning over the past two nights, he was extremely on edge and incredibly exhausted. It was as if he'd never been away, he realised.

Creeping silently through the house, he peeked around the door to the kitchen and found Happy piling shopping bags onto the counter. Seeing he was safe, he made his presence known.

"Happy, my man, you're a saint." He clapped the portly man on the shoulder as he approached and peeked into the brown bags.

"I can't take all the credit." He said, pulling products out of the bags. "Miss Potts said you'd probably resort to chewing on the furniture if we left you much longer." He smirked.

"Well, she's always been the wisest of us all." Tony said, zeroing in on a pack of donuts and snatching it from the bag.

"Tony, you're a grown man and I still have to tell you not to eat sweets before your breakfast?" Pepper shuffled through the door at the other end of the kitchen wielding even more bags. Though her tone was playful, Tony could sense that she still wasn't in a joking mood, so he put the donuts back. Pepper plonked the bags on the counter, turned, and walked straight back outside again. Tony glanced at Happy.

"There are more bags in the car." He said, handing Tony some stuff to put in the fridge. Tony nodded in understanding and stepped away. "Listen, boss, about punching you yesterday-"

"Don't worry about it." Tony said, smiling warmly. "And I'm definitely not your boss anymore."

Happy sighed with relief. "It's good to have you back anyway."

Tony smiled at him. "At least someone's glad I'm alive."

"Hey," Happy winced. "Don't say it like that. You know it's gotta be difficult for her."

"Yeah, I know." Tony sighed, closing the fridge door. "How has she been Happy? I mean really?"

Happy stopped unpacking and glanced around to make sure Pepper wasn't about to come back in before speaking.

"She wasn't great to start with." He sighed. "Actually, she was a completely wreck for the better part of a year, very much kept to herself, wouldn't talk to anyone properly, not even me. She took a year off from work. It took a lot out of her." He smiled sadly. "But then she met Rob and she started to act like the old Pepper again. It took a while, but I think she came to terms with the fact that you really weren't coming back."

"What's this Rob guy like anyway?" Tony asked, trying to appear casual and failing miserably.

"He's a good guy." Happy said seriously. "He helped her get better. He stuck around until she was ready to move on. Rhodey introduced them."

Tony nodded. "Did he now? That was nice of him."

Happy chuckled. "He used to be in the air force with him."

"Used to be?" Tony asked. "What does he do now?"

Happy's amused expression slipped somewhat and he closed his mouth.

"What?" Tony asked.

"Um..." Happy swallowed nervously. "Well now...now he works for SHIELD."

"What?" Tony exclaimed. "Pepper's boyfriend works for SHIELD?"

"Yeah, he does." Pepper voice came from the doorway and both men spun round to face her. Happy went beet red immediately.

"And you're still seeing him now?" Tony asked.

"I live with him Tony." Pepper said, putting the bags down and getting her dander up.

"And you don't think that, given the circumstances, that might not be the best idea?"

Happy shuffled nervously as Pepper changed gear from pissed to furious.

"How dare you." She said, surprisingly calmly. "What the hell gives you the right to dictate how I live my life?"

"Pepper, you don't know you can trust him-"

"Oh don't I?" Pepper crossed her arms across her chest. "Well, I'd say between him and you, I'd trust him more right now."

"The company he works for killed my boss, my friend and then tried to kill me!" Tony said, his voice rising.

"Hey!" Pepper barked. "First of all, Robert only joined SHIELD four years ago, way after you disappeared, and second of all, he is the only reason I didn't give up the ghost when you left, so if you think the fact that he works for SHIELD is going to have any impact on the way I feel about the man I owe my life to, you are sorely mistaken." She set her jaw and stared Tony down, determination set strong in her features.

Tony swallowed slowly and blinked. His gaze flicked briefly to Happy who was looking completely uncomfortable, and then back to Pepper.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled. "I just…there's a lot of stuff going on that centres around SHIELD, and I'm a bit on edge as you can probably imagine. It's going to take some getting used to." He walked forwards and picked up the bags, setting them down on the counter. Glad to have something to do, Happy lunged at the bags and began unpacking them.

"You still haven't told us exactly what your plan is." Pepper said, setting the argument to one side for a moment. "I mean, you can't just stay here hiding for the rest of your life."

"Actually," Tony said, reaching for one of the bags himself. "I do have a plan. Quite an ingenious plan at that." He smiled smugly and handed Happy the loaf of bread he took out of the bag.

When he didn't expand on his plan, Pepper spoke up.

"You gonna clue us in or shall we just sit here guessing?"

Tony span around to look at her. "I do, actually, plan on including you both. I need your help to get this thing started."

"What do you need us to do, boss?" Happy asked.

Tony smiled at the man. "What did I say about calling me that?" he turned to Pepper. "Before I get started with explaining, I need to know that if you're both in this, you're in it til the end. You can't back out halfway. I'm going to need all the help I can get for this and it's crucial I have people I can trust. It's going to be hard enough finding people to help."

"Well maybe you should tell us what the damn plan is." Pepper said, beginning to get annoyed with Tony's constant skirting of the actual point of the conversation.

"All in good time my dear." He said happily. "But I take it that you're both in?" he looked back and forth between them. Happy nodded and so did Pepper. "Excellent. First thing's first, I need you to go to New York tonight."

"What?" Pepper asked. "You want me to fly across country tonight? What the hell for?"

"There's a doctor in New York City. I need to bring him here."

Pepper gaped at him. "You want me to fly two-thousand miles to fetch you a doctor? Why the hell can't you do it? Why do you even need a doctor?" she couldn't help the panic in her voice when she asked that last question.

Tony sighed. "I thought you said you were in?"

"I am." Pepper stressed. "But I can't just fly two-thousand miles with no notice, Tony. I have a company to run, and Robert-"

"I already hacked into Stark Enterprises and made up a meeting at the New York office." Tony said, wafting his hand at her as if to dismiss her argument. "Just say it's urgent and you have to go as soon as possible. I'm sure Bobby will understand."

Pepper glared at him but kept her cool. "Fine, but I still don't understand why you can't go, you managed to get here without anyone seeing you."

"Look," Tony said, "I don't have time to explain now, especially when I have so little of it to begin with. Just please, bring him here."

"Yes, ok." Pepper huffed. "Do you have an address?"

Tony shook his head. "I know he works at New York Presbyterian but that's about it."

"What about a name?" Pepper asked. "Please tell me you at least know his name."

Tony smiled. "These days he goes by Donald Blake."

"How are we supposed to get him here bo- Tony?" Happy asked from behind. "I mean, I'm guessing you don't want us to tell him about you."

"That's exactly where you're wrong Hap." Tony said. "I want you to tell him anything and everything you need to in order to get him here. He's vital to the rest of the plan."

"Is there something wrong?" Pepper asked. "For you to need a surgeon? I mean, you're not…sick or anything?"

"Oh, no, nothing like that." Tony assured her. "It's not his medical expertise I'm after."

"Then I don't get it." Pepper moaned. "What's so special about him?"

Tony smiled again, plucking the donut bag off the counter and ripping it open.

"You have no idea."

* * *

"You have to go to New York? Now?" Robert asked, bewildered. Pepper had arrived back at the house and immediately rushed up to their bedroom, yanking an overnight bag out from under the bed and throwing some clothes into it.

"I know, I'm sorry." Pepper gushed whilst cramming clothes haphazardly into the case. "I just got a call that there's some sort of crisis happening at the office out there so I have to fly out."

Robert scoffed. "Can't someone else handle it? Someone, I don't know, in New York?"

Pepper finished packing and zipped the case up. "They wouldn't have called me if it wasn't urgent." She said. She lugged the case off the bed and walked out of the room, Robert following right behind her, down to the lounge where Happy was waiting. He took the case off her as she approached.

"Got everything?" he asked.

"Clothes, toothbrush, hairbrush," she counted things silently off her fingers. "Damn it, passport!" she span on her heel and rushed back upstairs. Both men watched her go and Happy chuckled.

"Can't get very far without that." He said. Robert turned to look at him.

"Is she ok?" he asked Happy. Happy's smile faltered and he cleared his throat.

"I think so…why?" he asked. Robert sighed.

"I dunno. She just seems a bit off recently."

Happy tried to stop himself looking too nervous. "It's probably just the stress of the new job. You know how it is." he shrugged. "Can't be easy running a company."

"Yeah, but she's been running the company for over ten years." Robert argued. "She was running it even when Stark was in charge. I don't get what's so different now he's dead."

Happy gulped and prayed silently that Pepper would come back soon. He had a terrible poker face and he could practically feel his façade slipping as the seconds ticked by.

"I mean," Robert continued. "I get that he was a huge part of her life, but I'm here now, and it still feels like she's grasping onto what little of him she still can."

'Hurry up, Pepper.' Happy thought.

"It just feels like I'm second fiddle to him sometimes, you know?" he said sadly.

"Mmm." Happy hummed.

"Found it!" Pepper said victoriously as she descended the stairs once more. Happy sighed in relief and made a hasty retreat to put Pepper's bag in the car, leaving her to say goodbye to Robert.

"How long are you going to be gone for?" he asked.

Pepper shrugged. "I honestly don't know. It can't be more than a few days. As far as I can gather there's just the one problem that needs sorting."

Robert nodded sadly and Pepper smiled. "Hey, don't give me the kicked puppy look, I'll be back before you know it." She brought her arms up to wrap around his neck and pull him close. He responded by placing his hands on her hips.

"I know, I just…I don't like it when you're away." He smiled and leant forward to kiss her softly.

Pepper hummed happily and ran her fingers through his hair. She found herself wondering what it would feel like to do the same thing to Tony with his new longer hair.

Wait, what?

She pulled away from Robert's kiss a little too soon for his liking. "I'll call you as soon as I get there, ok?" she tried to extricate herself from his embrace but he pulled her back.

"Hey, listen." He lowered his head again and nuzzled her ear. "When you come back, how 'bout we go away for a little bit? Just us two."

Pepper once again attempted to free herself and Robert took the hint. "We'll see how it goes with work, ok?" she said, smiling reassuringly. "Especially as I don't know what's happening with this meeting-"

"Yeah, ok." Robert interrupted, stepping away from her.

"Rob, I didn't mean-"

"It's fine. I get it." He tried to smile but it was more of a grimace. "I'll see you when you get home."

When she didn't move, he affixed a more convincing grin and motioned to the door. "Go on, Happy's waiting."

Pepper opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it, instead nodding and turning to the door.

"I love you, Rob." She said softly before hurrying out the door.

Rob sighed and lowered himself gingerly onto the couch.

"Yeah, you too."

* * *

Donald Blake sat in his office, painstakingly studying the medical chart in front of him. His patient, a politician from Boston who had flown in especially to see the best neurosurgeon in the country, had been complaining of nausea, vomiting, headaches, and since his admission, he had suffered four seizures and fallen into a coma. He'd been given both a CT and MRI scan which had revealed somewhat enlarged ventricles in the brain. From this, Blake had ordered a spinal tap to help determine his cerebrospinal fluid pressure, and then a cisternagram to evaluate the flow of the fluid in the brain and spinal cord.

From all of this complex data, Blake was able to diagnose the man with water on the brain and set in motion the correct medical procedures. The entire diagnostic process had taken close to a month and Blake had been fixated by it, not taking another case until he had made sure there was a reason for the man's illness, and that he could fix it. He had done just that, the man was due in for surgery to release the pressure on his brain and divert the fluid elsewhere, but Blake was exhausted.

He sighed, rubbed his eyes, and lowered his head onto his folded arms on the desk. Closing his eyes, he granted himself the luxury of a power nap.

Apparently, the orderly that knocked on his door merely thirty seconds later didn't think he deserved that luxury.

"Doctor Blake?" she squeaked, clearly aware of the fact that the man was not fully in the game.

"What is it Lauren?" Blake mumbled without lifting his head.

"Um, nurse Turner asked me to come get you." Lauren replied tentatively. "She says there are two people waiting for you by the nurse's station."

"Is there any way they can come back in about a week when I've had some sleep?" Blake said against his sleeve.

"They said it's urgent." Blake raised his head to see Lauren chewing her lip. The brunette shrugged. "Sorry."

Blake sighed and ran a hand through his mussed up dirty blonde hair. "Its fine, I guess I'm just that needed." He forced a smile and heaved himself out of his chair, grabbing his cane with his right hand as he went and leaning heavily on it as he walked. "Show me to my adoring public."

They made their way to the nurse's station two floors down, and Blake hobbled over to the buxom blonde sitting behind the desk.

"Ah, Samantha, looking lovely as always." He beamed at the woman. Samantha looked up and immediately smiled back.

"Nice to see you again Don." She said. "You look tired."

Blake laughed, his blue eyes sparkling. "I'll try to take that as a compliment."

"Seriously, Don." She said, scrutinising his appearance. "You should take a vacation or something."

"Is that an invitation?" he waggled his eyebrows and Samantha scoffed. "I guess not. Besides, who has time to take a vacation when there are people's lives to save?" He smiled. "So what's the skinny on my visitors?"

Samantha motioned to the waiting room opposite. "Man and a woman, wouldn't tell me what they wanted with you, just said it was 'critically urgent'" she said. "The woman's name is Virginia Potts." Samantha snorted.

"Hmm." Blake hummed. "Well, I guess we won't get anywhere standing here contemplating the mysteries of the universe." He winked at the nurse and limped over to the waiting room, shoving the door open and looking around. There were a few adults with children and a couple of geriatrics, and then, off to one side of the room, there was a very attractive redhead wearing a pencil skirt and a white blouse, sitting next to a portly, balding man in a black suit. Guessing these to be his visitors, he shuffled over to them. "Miss Potts?"

Pepper stood immediately and automatically held her hand out to shake the doctor's. "Please, call me Pepper." she said. "This is Happy Hogan." She motioned to the man next to her who also stood and shook Blake's hand.

"Uh, ok, Pepper." he nodded at her and smiled. "So, what can I do for you both? I was told it was urgent?"

"Oh, it is." Pepper assured him. "Um…could we speak more privately?"

Intrigued, Blake agreed and led them to an empty clinic room. Feeling a dull ache in his right leg, he hopped up onto the examination table and laid his cane next to him. He waited for Pepper to start speaking, but noticed she seemed to be having trouble getting started.

"Miss Potts? Pepper?" he said to try and get her talking.

She looked around the room. "Is it safe to talk in here?" she asked.

Blake scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. "Uh…are you worried about someone overhearing? The walls are pretty thick." He patted the one next to the table as if to prove the point. Pepper looked at Happy, who shrugged back at her. "Look, Miss Potts, I'm incredibly busy-"

"Do you know Tony Stark?" Pepper asked him.

Blake froze, his expression slipping from a polite smile to slack jawed amazement. He cleared his throat. "It's a name I haven't heard in a while."

"What do you know of him?" Pepper asked.

Wondering what she was getting at, Blake answered her question. "He was CEO of Stark Enterprises, he was Iron Man, he disappeared while fighting with the forces over in Afghanistan and is now dead."

"No, he's not." Pepper said.

Blake squinted at her. "What?"

"He's still alive." Happy said.

Blake's eyebrows shot upwards. "Are you serious?"

"Deadly." Pepper said. "Tony Stark is alive and he needs your help."

"So SHIELD lied?" Blake asked. This time it was Pepper and Happy who were surprised.

"How do you know about SHIELD?" Pepper asked him. Blake laughed mirthlessly.

"I worked for them, back before Maria Hill corrupted the entire institution." He said. "I heard of the story she put out concerning Tony, but I never believed it. Tony would never kill the good guys."

Pepper felt relief wash over her. Someone else believed him.

"I take it Shellhead has a plan?" Blake asked. Happy laughed.

"Shellhead?"

"He does." Pepper interrupted. "Well, he says he does, but he won't tell us what it is. He just sent us here to get you. He said you're critical to the plan."

Blake smiled jovially at them. "Tell Järn Mannen that I'll help in any way I can, and I'll bring anyone else I can find." He hopped off the table gingerly, supporting himself with his cane. "And while you're in New York, you should talk to a guy called Peter Parker; he should be able to track down Spider-Man for us."

"Seriously?" Happy asked. "Cool."

"Anyway." Pepper spoke over Happy. "We'll get straight on it. Do you know where we can find him?"

"He works over at The Daily Bugle in Manhattan." Blake said. "He's a freelance photographer for them."

Pepper nodded and held her hand out to shake the doctor's again. "We will. Thank you, Doctor Blake."

"Call me Don." Blake said. "I'll be seeing you very soon."

Pepper and Happy exited the clinic room and Blake whistled, looking down at his cane.

"Well, Mjölnir, it seems our services are once more required." He shoved himself off the table and threw the door open. "Samantha! I'm going to have to take some of those vacation days!"

**TBC**

**P.S. For those that don't know, Järn Mannen is 'Iron Man' in Swedish, and Mjölnir is...well, you'll find out soon enough.**


	4. Chapter 4

Ok, first of all, I'm so incredibly sorry for the…Jesus, three month delay. My desktop, holding **every fic and set of notes I have ever written, including this which was completely written out** decided it didn't want to turn on one day, and in attempting to fix it, it imploded in on itself and lays broken and thrown against the wall. I've had to re-write the notes for this, which was originally over thirty pages long, and I can only remember enough to fill twenty-three. That's what I've been doing for the past three months, that and trying to find the will to write again.

Secondly, I couldn't find a place called 'Central City' in California, but I found a place called Stockton which is apparently where it's supposed to be near, so I'm using that for where Sue and Johnny Storm live. Apparently it's a really rough area…awesome.

**Disclaimer: Words cannot express how much I don't own them.

* * *

**

Twenty minutes later, Pepper and Happy found themselves in the large foyer of The Daily Bugle Building. Taking no time to admire the interior, they marched up to the receptionist and demanded to speak to Peter Parker.

The receptionist, a fifty-something woman by the name of Hazel, did not take kindly to demands, and as such curtly told Pepper that 'Parker doesn't work here, he's freelance'.

"Well then do you know where he lives?" Pepper asked. "It's imperative that we speak to him."

"Listen young lady," Hazel said in her most bitchy voice. "Parker is _freelance_. We don't have any records for him. We don't even have a phone number for him." She turned back to her computer. "He comes in every now and then with pictures of Spider-Man and then he disappears."

Pepper was gearing herself up to reply but Happy grabbed her arm and shook his head, pulling her away. He led her out of the building and into the street.

"Happy, what are you doing?" Pepper asked, tugging her arm from his grip.

"Pepper, they don't know where to find him, so there's no point starting fights with people." Happy sighed.

"I was not starting a fight." Pepper said. "She was. And we can't just give up Happy, we need to find-"

She was cut off when a tall, geeky looking man barrelled into her, spilling the folders he was carrying all across the pavement. Pepper stumbled into Happy, who caught her and then immediately went into bodyguard mode, pushing Pepper behind him and squaring up to the man.

"Hey pal, watch where your flinging yourself." He barked at the man who was now stooping to pick up his folders.

"I'm sorry." The man mumbled, scrambling to gather his folders and the documents that had fallen out of them. "I'm really sorry, I wasn't concentrating."

"Yeah, well maybe you should-" Happy started, but Pepper grabbed his arm and gasped. She pointed at the documents he was still collecting. Some of them were photographs, and all of those were of Spider-Man.

"Peter?" Pepper asked tentatively. The man stopped grabbing his folders and looked up at them.

"Uh, yes?" he replied, puzzled.

"Peter Parker?" Happy asked. The man frowned.

"Do I know you?" he stood up, tucking the folders under his arm.

Pepper stepped from behind Happy. "We need to find Spider-Man." She said, lowering her voice.

Peter shifted uncomfortably. "Well, ya know, I don't really know him, I just photograph him sometimes. I can't really track him down."

"You don't understand." Happy said, stepping forwards into Peter's personal space. "We _need_ to find him. It's really important."

"I'm sure it is." Peter said, standing his ground. "But like I said, I don't know the guy."

"Look," Pepper said, pulling Happy away and throwing all her eggs in this one basket. "We're friends of Tony Stark and he needs Spider-Man's help.

"What?" Peter hissed. "Tony's still alive?" his hazel eyes widened in shock. He didn't wait for either Pepper or Happy to reply before gesturing for them to follow him down an alleyway at the side of the Bugle Building.

When they had gotten far enough down it, Peter turned back to them and started unbuttoning his shirt. Pepper froze and Happy spluttered in shock.

"Whoa, hey, what the hell are you-" he faltered as what Peter was wearing underneath came into view.

It was Spider-Man's costume.

"Oh my God." Pepper mumbled, eyes flitting from Peter's face to the red and blue costume beneath his shirt.

"Whatever Tony's plan is, count me in." Peter said, removing his shirt completely. "I take it he'll be needing a little more help than just little old me?" he asked. Pepper nodded, still mesmerised. "Ok, I think I can round up some of the X-Men, but I can't guarantee it. Where is he holding up?" he fumbled with the back of the costume and pulled his mask over his head like a hoody and began removing his pants.

Pepper snapped out of her daze and re-focused on the young man before her. "We're back in Malibu." She said quietly.

"Ok." Peter said, glancing around to either side of the alley as people rushed by. "Hey, here." He ripped off a corner of one of the documents in the folder and scribbled down an address, handing it to Pepper. "Go to this house in Stockton, I heard that's where Sue and Johnny Storm are hiding out. Sue's husband Reed works for SHIELD, she may be able to help us."

Pepper blinked as she took the scrap of paper and then at the fully transformed Spider-Man in front of her.

"I can't believe Tony's alive." Peter said, quite clearly ecstatic. "Tell him I'll be there as soon as possible." He saluted to the pair, raised his hand to the building above them and shot out a web, instantly sticking it to the ledge. Before Pepper or Happy could say another word, he flew upwards and over the top of the building, vanishing out of sight.

"Did that…really just happen?" Happy asked, turning to Pepper.

Pepper smiled and folded the scrap of paper, tucking it into her pocket.

"I think it's safe to say we found Spider-Man."

* * *

"I don't think this was the best idea." Happy said to Pepper nervously as he drove up a dilapidated street, trying to find the address Peter had given them the previous day.

Pepper, who was staring out of the window, straining her eyes to see the numbers on the doors of the dimly lit street, sighed and glanced at the paper again.

"We'll be fine, Happy. Most of these houses look deserted anyway."

Happy nodded and shot a sidelong glance at Pepper, noting the stressed look she was trying to mask. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel briefly and took a deep breath before speaking.

"This –Tony coming back- it's really messed you up hasn't it?"

He saw her jaw tense involuntarily but she shook her head.

"I'm fine, Happy. I'm only helping him so he'll leave quicker; I don't think anything about him any more."

Happy nodded and turned his gaze back to the road and the houses.

"It's gotta be weird though, right?" he continued after a few moments. "I mean, he's a dead man walking."

Pepper sighed again and turned towards him.

"Happy, can we drop this? I just want to find these people and go home."

Happy bit his lip and nodded again, mumbling an apology and staring out of the window. He stopped the car after a few minutes and pointed to a house with boarded up windows and chunks missing from the door.

"403, this is it." Pepper said, folding the piece of paper into her bag and stepping out of the car. She and Happy made their way up the dark path toward the front door. Weeds stuck out and hooked on to Pepper's skirt as she walked and when they reached the door, they saw that the number four had fallen from one of its hooks and was hanging upside down. Happy shuffled nervously next to Pepper.

"I really don't like this, Pep." He said in a hushed voice. "How do we know we can even trust these people?"

Pepper considered this for a moment. Someone that she had only met yesterday had told her to go an abandoned cul-de-sac in search of two people who may not even live there. No one knew where she was, Robert thought she was still at her 'meeting' in New York, common sense was screaming at her to turn around before the shit hit the fan. But a small voice spoke over her common sense, a voice telling her that Tony would _never_ send her into danger unintentionally. He always made sure they both knew the risks, and even then, she was always the first to offer assistance. Pepper sighed, praying she was right, and knocked on the door.

The knock seemed to echo around the whole cul-de-sac and both Pepper and Happy stood frozen, staring at the door. They heard footsteps almost immediately, quickly approaching the door from the inside and it was flung open to reveal…nothing. Happy stepped back a little and stared into the house. All they could see was a set of dusty stairs to the right and an old bookcase, sans books, propped up against the opposing wall. Pepper moved to step forward but Happy grabbed her arm and shook his head, eyes wide in fright. She turned back to the house, trying to peer further into the darkness.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" she called out, mentally slapping herself for asking such a stupid question.

"Who are you?" a woman's voice asked back. Happy jumped a foot in the air and clutched at his chest while Pepper let out a little yelp and looked around.

"Um…m-my name is Pepper Potts, I'm trying to find Sue and Johnny Storm." Pepper said nervously, her eyes flitting around, trying to find the source of the voice.

A floorboard creaked in front of them and both heads snapped towards the noise as the voice sounded again.

"What do you want with them?" it asked.

Pepper swallowed nervously and cleared her throat. "We need to talk to them about Tony Stark."

The voice was silent for a moment before speaking again.

"Tony Stark is dead, and I don't know anything else about these people." The door began to swing shut but Pepper held a hand up to stop it.

"Please!" she said loudly. "Please, he's not dead and he needs their help. Peter Parker sent us, he gave us this address."

The door froze and then opened again to reveal a blonde woman standing behind it, a faint blue glow surrounding her. Happy let out a yell of surprise and covered his mouth.

"Peter sent you?" she asked, eying Pepper suspiciously.

Pepper nodded. "Yes, we just arrived from New York; he's gone to see if he can get any more people to help us."

The woman stared at them for a moment before stepping back and allowing them to enter the house, where they followed her into what must have at one stage been the lounge.

"Don't mind the glow." The woman said, turning to them and gesturing to herself. "It's a safety precaution. Can't be too careful these days."

Pepper nodded and looked around the scruffy room before setting her gaze back on the woman. "So you must be Sue Storm."

Sue sighed and nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "Johnny's not here right now, but whatever it is, you can't count us out of it."

Pepper blinked. "Um…"

"This is about Project 42 right?" she asked. At Pepper's nod, Sue sighed again. "Look, it's nothing personal against Tony." She continued. "My husband still works for SHIELD, we spent months fighting about this registration business verbally, I can't do it physically, and there's no way in hell I'm letting my brother do it either."

Pepper stared at her disbelievingly. "You're not going to help? We've just flown across country to find you and you won't even hear the plan?"

Sue stood up a little straighter. "Look around you, Miss Potts, look at how I'm living, how I've been living for the past seven years. This is what that registration act has done to us. The fighting has ripped my family apart, and I am not willing to make any more casualties. I hope for all our sakes you're able to stop it, but we can't help you. I'm sorry." She finished, indicating that the conversation was now over. Pepper stared at her again for a second before relenting.

"Fine," she said "We'll see ourselves out."

She walked briskly out of the lounge, Happy jumping into step immediately, following her out to the car.

"What now Pepper?" he asked tentatively.

Pepper sighed and looked back at the house. "That was our last lead." She said sadly. "I guess now…we go home."

**TBC**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Thanks to Marvel Comics Database and Marvel Universe Wiki for character information.**

* * *

Four days after they'd set off, an exhausted Pepper and Happy stumbled through Tony's front door. Driving across country and sleeping in shifts had really taken its toll, and Happy pretty much collapsed on to the couch as soon as they were in. Pepper shuffled into the kitchen and turned on the coffee maker, sitting on a stool at the counter and resting her elbows on the tile surface, head in her hands.

"Damn, Potts, you look terrible." Tony's laughing voice came from the other side of the counter.

Pepper sighed, annoyed at the interruption from trying to doze.

"Yeah well, I look better than you, you scruffy-" she stopped talking as she pulled her hands away from her face, speechless as the unkempt, ragamuffin Tony Stark had been replaced with the neatly trimmed, devilishly good looking version. His full beard was gone and once again his jaw was home to his trademark goatee. His hair, though still long, reaching just below his ears, looked neat and tidy, falling handsomely over his eyes a little as he smiled at her.

"Something wrong, Potts?" he asked, smirking. "Don't like the new look?"

Pepper stared at him before shaking her head to clear it.

"How the hell did you cut your hair?"

Tony laughed and ran a hand through it, ruffling it slightly.

"Dummy helped. I told him if he messed it up I'd strip him down to his primary parts and turn him into a female, so…" he shrugged and ruffled his hair again. "Does it look ok? Because seriously, he's down there shaking in his little robot boots."

Pepper smiled, slipping off the stool and walking around the counter. Tony followed her with his eyes, staring intently as she stopped in front of him and raised her hands to each side of his head, threading her fingers through his hair and looking it over. She tugged it out sideways, checking the length and swallowing harshly.

"Well…it's level at least, um…" her eyes flitted between his and she trailed off. Tony raised his own hands and took hold of hers, pulling them away from his head and holding on to them as he stepped closer.

"Hey guys, oh…sorry." Happy stood awkwardly in the kitchen doorway as Pepper jumped away from Tony and went over to the coffee maker, setting about pouring three cups out. Tony sighed and ran a hand through his hair again, shaking his head and turning to Happy, raising his eyebrows.

"So, was your mission successful?" he asked, taking the cup Pepper was offering him and taking a sip. "You haven't brought anyone back with you."

Pepper rounded the counter again and sat back in her seat, cradling the mug in her hands. "We found Donald Blake, he's on board, and he sent us to find Peter Parker, who's also on board, and _he_ sent us to find Sue and Johnny Storm, who _aren't _on board. But both Parker and Blake went off to find other people so…" Pepper shrugged and took a sip of her own coffee.

Tony perked up a bit at this and was about to reply when Jarvis interrupted.

"Sir, two unidentified males are approaching the house on a motorcycle at high speed." He said, sluggishly. The colour completely drained from Tony's face as fear ripped through his stomach. He looked over at Pepper and motioned to her to stay put before rushing out of the kitchen, past Happy and towards the front door.

"Jarvis!" Tony barked as he ran to the window facing the path up to the house. "How the hell did they get past the front gates?"

"My apologies, sir." Jarvis continued in the slow tone. "My software requires upgrading; I was in the process of re-securing the premises after Miss Potts' and Mr Hogan's entry, unfortunately I was unable to shut the gates before the motorcycle gained entry."

Tony swore and peeked out of the window. Sure enough a motorcycle was rocketing its way up the drive with two men upon it. His brain started working furiously, thinking who could know he was there apart from the people he'd sent Pepper and Happy to bring back. Surely they wouldn't have betrayed him. No, this meant that Hill knew he was there, that he was still alive, and that meant…

"Boss?" Happy said from behind him, breaking him from his thoughts. "You got a plan?"

Tony shook his head. "This isn't your fight, Hap. You need to take Pepper and get out, ok? Whoever this is means business. They're going to try and take me away and they're not gonna take no for an answer."

Happy scoffed. "Right, I'm gonna leave you to fight off God knows what on your own. Sure."

The motorcycle stopped at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the front door and the men got off it. The driver wasn't wearing a helmet and the passenger looked as if he'd rather not get back on the bike again. They both began walking up to the house and Tony turned to Happy, grabbing him by the shoulders.

"Happy, please, just go keep Pepper safe. If I need you I'll shout, I promise."

Happy hesitated for a second before turning and jogging back to the kitchen. Tony turned back to the window just in time to see the two figures approach the front door. He faced it and braced himself as the knob turned, focussing his energy in preparation for whoever or whatever was about to walk through the door. It began to open and he closed his eyes, feeling the energy building.

"…-swear to God, Logan, I am never getting on that thing again. You do realise there are speed limits right?"

Tony's eyes snapped open as the familiar voice came from the door, followed by a gruff baritone as the second man walked in.

"Yeah well, you said speed was of the essence kiddo."

The first man opened his mouth to argue back, but he noticed Tony and froze, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"Tony…damn, it's good to see you."

Tony blinked and after a second grinned back at the man, stepping forward and throwing his arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug and laughing.

"Good to see you too, Pete. Really." He pulled back after a moment and ruffled Peter's hair. "God, you got old fast."

Peter laughed and slapped Tony's hand away. "Well it has been seven years, I'm not a teenager anymore." He raised his hand to show the ring on his finger. "Married and everything."

Tony stared at the ring for a second, still grinning widely. "MJ? Tell me it's MJ."

Peter laughed and nodded. "Course it is. You think she'd let me marry anyone else?"

The man Peter had called Logan cleared his throat. "As heart wrenching as this little reunion is, mind if we stay clear of the little tea party and get down to business? Or is this it?" he looked around the room as if expecting more people to show up.

Peter rolled his eyes. "Tony, this is Wolverine, real name James Howlett, of the X-Men."

"I go by Logan." He said gruffly, holding out his hand to shake Tony's. He was well built, around Tony's height, though his obscure haircut added a couple inches. He was middle aged, Tony guessed around forty, and though he looked like he could handle himself in a fight, the complete lack of blemishing gave the impression he'd never been in one.

Tony took hold of Logan's hand. "Wolverine huh? Very…ferocious. "

Logan laughed and tightened his hand around Tony's. Tony flinched a little and then froze in horror as a single metal claw extended from between two of Logan's knuckles and slowly made its way towards the inside of Tony's wrist, stopping millimetres from his skin.

"Adamantium skeleton." Logan boasted, retracting his claw and letting go of Tony's hand before flicking his wrists and extending all six at once. "Indestructible to pretty much anything, so am I come to think of it." He retracted his claws again and Tony watched in awe as the broken skin of his knuckles stitched itself together until it was completely back to normal. "Fast healing capability." He explained.

Tony nodded, impressed. "Adamantium huh? I've heard there's a Wakandan metal with similar properties. Some say it's stronger."

Logan laughed and shook his head. "You mean Vibranium? Bub, that stuff's a myth. No one's ever found it out there and no one's stupid enough to argue with the Black Panther."

Tony chuckled and inclined his head. "Yeah, that's true I guess. I take it you know a Wakandan then?"

Logan nodded. "One of our gang is Wakandan; Storm."

Tony blinked and a smile spread across his face. "Not Ororo?"

"Yeah." Logan said slowly. "You know her?"

Tony opened his mouth to reply but stopped mid word and shook his head. "Not personally. I spent some time in Wakanda a couple years ago. Hey, speaking of the X-Men, should we be expecting them any time soon?"

Logan sighed. "Sorry bub, Professor X won't allow it, and I 'aint pushing him. He's been good to me since I joined; he's helped me discover who I am. That's why I'm here. It took me decades to find out who I am, there's no way I'm giving that up to anyone."

"Then you're in the right place." Tony grinned.

Peter, who had been looking around the lounge, bent and picked up Pepper's purse which was lying on the coffee table.

"Have we interrupted something, T?"

"Crap." Tony exclaimed. "Jarvis! Tell Happy and Pepper they can come back in now, everything's fine."

"More allies?" Logan asked.

"Friends." Tony said as both Pepper and Happy entered the room, nodding politely at Peter and introducing themselves to Logan. "Thor is coming and he's bringing back up."

Both Logan and Peter grinned at this but Happy and Pepper frowned, confused.

"Thor?" Pepper asked.

"Blake." Tony clarified.

"Why is he called Thor?" Happy asked, scratching his head.

"Because he's Thor…" Logan said slowly, trying to make him understand.

"Thor?" Pepper interrupted. "As in Nordic God of Thunder? Right, pull the other one."

Just as Tony was about to answer back, there was a low humming sound and what felt like static electricity began tugging at the hair on his arms. All of a sudden, there was a great clap of thunder and a brilliant light as Doctor Blake and another man appeared in the middle of the room. Pepper screamed and Happy pushed her out of the way, standing in front of her though looking just as scared and shocked as she did.

"Hell, I wish you wouldn't transport like that." The stranger said, shaking his head and smoothing his hair back. He was tall, well over six feet, and built like a Greek God. He was wearing what looked to be some sort of military overall, black in colour, with a huge white skull across the front, and he'd come prepared for a fight judging by the multitude of weaponry adorning his person.

Blake, who was dusting his trench coat down, laughed softly and beamed. "Aww, did I upset your belly?" he turned to the rest of the group, noticing Pepper and Happy pretty much clinging to each other. "Oh come now, don't look so frightened, you act as though you've never seen lightning bolt transportation. Ah, Peter! Good to see you young man! How's the missus?"

"MJ's great." Peter replied, taking Don's outstretched hand. "We didn't get hit too hard with the Prop. I must be better at keeping secrets than I thought."

Don smiled and clapped Logan on the back as he turned to him. "Mister Howlett, always a pleasure. How's your merry band of crusaders doing? I hear they're in somewhat of a stalemate?"

Logan nodded. "Another reason why they won't be joining us. At the minute, they're kind of immune to the Prop, what with Xavier working on 'taming' mutants. The Government, and more importantly SHIELD, don't see them as much of a threat, but if they join up with us…there are more lives at risk that Xavier is comfortable having control over."

"Say no more." Don said, raising his hand. "That Professor of yours has a good head on his shoulders. And as for you, sir." Don rounded on Tony, drawing himself up to his full height as best he could whilst supporting himself with his cane. "I honestly believed I'd never see that handsome face again, Shellhead."

Tony laughed loudly and embraced Don like a brother, clapping his back as he pulled away.

"It's great to see you too, Don. It's been far too long." He said, grinning broadly.

"That it has!" Don exclaimed, still smiling as he turned to face Pepper and Happy who were still looking rather shell shocked. He leant towards Tony and muttered under his breath. "What's wrong with your friends, Järn Mannen?"

Tony quirked his lip and whispered 'non believers' back at him. Don recoiled in horror, locking eyes with Tony and winking.

"Then we must fix it at once!" he said, stepping back into space and holding his cane out to his side. "Mjölnir, if you'd be so kind."

As he spoke to his cane, it began to glow. For a few seconds it pulsed with a bright light and then suddenly there was another thunderclap and it morphed into a short, stubby war hammer, and that wasn't all. The glow flowed through the hammer and down Blake's arm, along his body. The trench coat was gone, replaced now with some sort of leather warrior clothing, complete with armoured sections and a cape. Pepper and Happy stared at him, mouths agape as he stood before them, completely transformed from a crippled doctor into a 6'6" God of Thunder. He stepped towards them and Happy nervously but bravely stepped in front of Pepper, swallowing hard.

"Greetings." Thor said, stopping in front of Happy. "I am Thor Odinson, son of Odin and Ruler of Asgard."

Happy stared at him, eyes wide, Adam's apple bobbing wildly in fear. Thor laughed, as did the rest of the group, and Tony stepped up to them, pulling Pepper forward.

"Don't' be scared, Pep." He said softly. "He's a puppy really, aren't you big guy?"

"Håll käften, din lilla-"

"Ah ah! There are ladies present!" Tony laughed. Thor glared at him but smiled at Pepper.

"My lady, if the stars were as beautiful as you, the skies would have light forever more." He said, taking her hand and kissing it. Pepper blinked and flashed a weak smile.

"Um…thank you…"

"Not that it's any of my business," the stranger that Don had brought with him spoke up. "But aren't we kind of pushed for time here?"

Peter glared at the man, curling his fists at his sides.

"What exactly is he doing here?" he said in a low, livid tone.

"What's the matter, Parker?" the other man asked. "Scared I'm going to kick your butt again?"

Peter advanced on him, rolling up his sleeves. "I swear to God-"

"Hey!" Tony grabbed Peter by the arm and pulled him back. "We're all allies now, we can't fight amongst ourselves."

"I'd listen to your boyfriend if I were you, Parker." The man said smugly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Frank!" Tony snapped, turning to him.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't use my name, Stark."

Tony sighed and nodded, thinking better of arguing back. "Everyone, this is Punisher. Usually he spends his time as a sort of vigilante, but any help is good help. Welcome to the cause."

"Thanks." Punisher scoffed. "So…is this it? This is all of us?"

Logan laughed. "This guy's an ass, but I like him." He turned back to Tony and Don, who had transformed back into his human self. "So what is the plan?"

Tony took a deep breath and looked at the group who were all now staring at him, Pepper and Happy included.

"Well…I haven't quite worked out all the kinks yet, but I've got a rough idea of what we need to do." He said. "Firstly, we need to clear my name. I'm the catalyst in this equation, and as long as I'm an outlaw, there's not a lot we can get done, but once I'm clean, we can stop Hill and whatever it is that she's really planning."

"You think there's something more going on than the registration Prop?" Peter asked.

Tony nodded. "I know there is. I'm not going into it right now, there's still a lot more planning that needs doing before we get ready to basically storm SHIELD's airship."

Logan spluttered and shook his head. "Now, I aint much of a strategist, but there's five of us, not counting your lady and bodyguard," he said to Tony. "And I'm guessing there's a helluva lot more than that in that big 'ole ship."

"That's true," Tony said as Punisher muttered in agreement. "But I'm working on having an ace in the hole, and if I clear my name, hopefully the rest of the Avengers will join us."

* * *

Once everyone had been fed, they went their separate ways through the house, each choosing a bed and settling in for the night. Tony pulled Pepper and Happy aside to hear about what happened with Sue and Johnny, and after a few exaggerations by Happy, he left, claiming to be 'completely wiped and in need of a drink', leaving Tony and Pepper sitting in the kitchen. Pepper was barely keeping her eyes open and after a half hour of small talk, Tony told her she needed to get some sleep.

"You're welcome to stay here." He told her as she got up to leave. "I mean, the only bed left is mine, but I can sleep on the sofa or-"

"Its fine," Pepper interrupted. "I should get home. Robert will be wondering where I am."

"You haven't called him?" Tony asked, leaning against the kitchen counter.

Pepper rolled her eyes, beginning to get annoyed with him. "I've been busy with 'meetings', remember? Someone made my fly across country-"

"Ok, ok, I get it." Tony chuckled, raising his hands in surrender. "Get on home; I won't keep you any longer than I have to."

Pepper nodded her thanks and turned to leave the kitchen, stopping in the doorway and leaning against the jamb and gazing at him thoughtfully.

"Tony," she started carefully. "This is a huge mission you're undertaking here, and I'm not doubting your confidence or anything but…what if you can't do it? I mean Logan is right; we're horrendously under-manned here."

"Don't worry, Pep." He said, smiling winningly at her. "Everything will work out, you'll see."

"But what if it doesn't?" she asked quietly.

He heard the silent meaning behind her question and sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets and tilting his head as he caught her eyes.

"Then at least there will be people who knew I died fighting for what's right."

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

Ok, so before we start, I would like to thank my friend OpheliusRex for helping me improve my smut writing over the past five months or so. Feels like I've known you a lot longer bro, but this is dedicated to you. And yes, here we go with a warning now: **smut ahoy.** If it's not something you want to read, don't. It's towards the end of the chapter, and this is the only chapter where that will be present.

**Disclaimer: Still not mine. Thanks to Marvel Universe Wiki and Marvel Comics Database for character info, and to Slipknot for writing –in my opinion- the greatest unrequited love song ever. The lyrics pretty much summed up my 2009/10, it gave me the inspiration to write this sequel, and this entire chapter was written out with it on repeat. It's fucking genius.**

_I only wish you weren't my friend_

_Then I could hurt you in the end_

_I never claimed to be a saint_

_Ooh, my own was banished long ago_

_It took the death of hope to let you go

* * *

_

Nearly two months had passed, and in that time Tony had only managed to attain two more members to their cause. Luke Cage, who had been living peacefully with his wife and daughter in New Orleans, immediately joined when confronted by Don. He compared the act to slavery and had feared for his family's safety when SHIELD had requested he sign up, and as such had sent them to a safe place in Canada. Being self taught in hand-to-hand combat and possessing incredible strength and speed, as well as healing in almost a third of the time as a normal man and the fact that he was fluent in over a dozen languages, he had immediately been paired with Peter and sent away to find more help. So far, they'd been gone for three weeks and hadn't sent word back, and though Tony knew they could both handle themselves, he was still worried. There was no way to know if they'd been captured apart from tuning into the news every night to see if their names were amongst the Cape Killer's Captured List.

The only other member of the 'Secret Avengers' as Logan had dubbed them, was a Californian who, like Punisher, would only allow others to address him by his alias of Cable. He had turned up of his own accord one day, frightening the crap out of Pepper when she saw his hulking form, not to mention his techno-organic left arm and eye, which seemed to glow sporadically. He hadn't spoken to any of them apart from informing Tony he was fighting alongside them, and then settling down in the garden to, by all accounts, meditate. He hadn't moved for four days, but both Tony and Don agreed the best thing to do would be to leave him alone. Logan had passed on information from Professor X about Cable, saying he'd been intercepting a high frequency telepathic signal for a number of weeks, and it had gotten stronger as he had been communicating with Logan via Cerebro. Xavier guessed it was something to do with the newcomer and advised to keep their distance from him.

Over the past two months whilst the other Secret Avengers had been travelling not only through America, but the globe, searching for help, Tony had been holed up in his workshop for most of his days, planning and contacting as many people as he could that he knew he could trust to help. Both Pepper and Happy had been helping out as much as they could, but Pepper was finding it harder and harder to come up with stories for rushing out of the house at a moment's notice and not coming back for days on end, and Robert was getting sick of it.

"I mean, I just don't understand why you have so many meetings that only you can handle." He blurted out during yet another argument. "Surely you can't be the only person in the entire universe that can handle these problems."

Pepper groaned in frustration, glaring at him. "Do you think I want to fly all over the world every week? Well I don't. It's pissing me off just as much as you, but I'm the head of the company, some things can only be handled by me."

"But why does it have to be in person?" Robert argued, raising his voice.

"Because I'm the head of the fucking company!" Pepper yelled back.

Robert laughed and shook his head. "What the hell does that have to do with anything? When Tony was the head of the company, he still had you dashing all over the place, covering for him while he was recovering from a hangover or whatever."

"That was part of my job description." She said, trying to keep her head.

"So why is it still now?" he asked, his face reddening in anger. "For God's sake, Pep, the man's dead, stop letting him rule your life and let us get on with ours!"

Pepper stared at him for a second, huffing out a laugh and walking up to him.

"Contrary to what you think you know, Robert, I'm living my own life." She tensed her jaw and locked her gaze with his. "I spent ten years pretty much running that company myself with Tony in charge, and another ten years on my own. The fact that he's dead has changed _nothing_, and I am not giving this up just because you get a little…jealous, paranoid, whatever. That's your problem and I'll be damned if I let _your_ problems drag me down." She turned before he could reply and grabbed her car keys, heading towards the door. "I'm going to Rhodey's, I might be back tomorrow."

She slammed the front door behind her and hurried to her car, reversing out of the drive as quickly as humanly possible and pulling out onto the road. She had no intentions of going to Rhodey's, unless it was to punch him in the face, so she turned onto the PCH when she exited her block and heading towards Tony's, thinking she may as well check up on any progress he'd made since she'd last seen him nine days ago.

Was she really counting the days?

The house seemed eerily quiet when she entered, and she only noticed Peter from his position lying on the couch when he called out her name, making her jump. She squinted through the darkness and blinked when he switched a nearby lamp on.

"Pete, you're back." She said, smiling and stepping towards him. "How come you're sat in the dark?"

Pete smiled back and laid down the book he was reading, and sat up, leaving her space to sit down.

"We only just got back. Luke's in the gym, I wasn't tired so I decided to read for a while." He grinned at her and winked. "Plus I had a feeling you'd turn up."

Pepper opened her mouth to reply but shook her head, ignoring his comment and sitting next to him, picking up his book, a very battered copy of Turn of the Screw.

"Why were you reading in the dark?"

Peter laughed. "I don't need light to see, really. Enhanced eyesight and all that." He gently took the book from Pepper and folded the corner of the page he was on before laying it on the coffee table. "Tony gave me that for my sixteenth birthday."

Pepper smiled softly and looked it over once more. "You must have read it a lot, it looks like it's been well used."

"Not really." Pete said, slumping back against the couch and stretching slightly, his shoulder cracking loudly. "It wasn't in much better condition when he gave it to me. It was Tony's before mine and his father's before that. It's his favourite book."

Pepper stared at it and then at Peter. "You two seem pretty close."

Peter smiled and nodded. "He's been pretty much like a father to me the entire time I've known him." He said, linking his fingers together on his knees. "He took me under his wing when I started working for SHIELD. I was fifteen, I'd only been Spiderman for maybe four months, I'd lost my Uncle, and I was completely blown away by the sheer amount of…stuff I had to deal with. It's more than anyone, never mind someone so young should have to deal with, and if it hadn't been for Tony, I probably would have freaking out in the first week." He chuckled a little and rubbed the back of his neck.

Pepper smiled a little. "So…you're what? Twenty-five?"

Peter nodded. "Had my birthday the week before you guys showed up at the Bugle. Tony was my pseudo father for the three years before he disappeared. I lost my parents when I was younger, and I only had my Aunt, and I couldn't tell her about any of this because I might put her in danger…it was great to be able to have someone to talk to, someone who understood and someone who could give me advise.." he looked up at Pepper, a serious look on his face. "I'd follow him into anything. No matter what."

Pepper saw the sincerity in his words and nodded. "Then he's lucky to have you. We all are."

He lifted one side of his mouth in a grin and grabbed his book again, nervously flicking through the pages and looking away from her. "He…he mentioned what happened between you two. About your son."

Pepper's jaw tensed a little as Peter looked at her again. "It took a while for me to get him to talk about it. He's still really broken up about it, as I'm sure you are. It's not something either of you will ever be able to forget, and I told him he was a dipshit for leaving like he did, but I think the work he did for the three years he was with us, if not the seven years he's been missing, helped him get through it. I know it must have been especially tough on you, but he honestly believed you'd be better off, safer, without him."

Pepper opened her mouth to reply but closed it again, nodding and getting up from the couch.

"Is he still up?"

Peter nodded and motioned to the entrance to the workshop. "Blake's down there with him, no idea what they're doing though." He said. Pepper nodded again and headed towards the stairs. "Pepper…he would have made a fantastic father."

She tensed her jaw, stopping for a second, before continuing down the stairs towards the workshop. As she descended the steps, she noticed Don's back facing her. He appeared to be sitting in one of the computer chairs, leaning over one of the dentist-style chairs that decorated Tony's workshop and as she opened the door, she saw Tony was actually in the chair. There was a cable poking out of a gap in Tony's reactor which was plugged into one of his computers, and Jarvis appeared to be rattling off the specifications of it to the two men. Blake turned as she opened the door and beamed widely at her.

"Ah, Miss Potts, lovely to see you." He greeted her, turning back to Tony, who smiled at her too. "Please come in, I'm nearly done here."

Pepper quietly stepped forwards and peered around Blake's form, gazing at the open reactor. Blake was examining some faded red and purple markings surrounding it, as well as nodding to the specs Jarvis was giving him, his hands protected by latex disposable gloves.

"Didn't expect to see you till next weekend." Tony said, shifting slightly as Blake prodded his chest. "Everything ok?"

Pepper shrugged and shoved her hands in her jeans pockets. "Rob and I had an argument is all. I threw a hissy fit and walked out…you mind if I crash here tonight?"

Tony was halfway through saying he didn't mind at all, when Blake clapped his hands together and rolled back in his chair, tugging the gloves off with a snap and throwing them in a disposable waste bucket underneath the desk.

"Well, Shellhead, your rash is clearing up nicely, and the new reactor seems to be doing wonders, so congratu-welldone." He said, turning to the desk and grabbing a clipboard, scrawling something down.

Pepper glanced at Tony's chest and sure enough, instead of the perfectly round insides that she had last seen in his reactor, this one was triangular.

"New element." Tony said, tapping his chest and answering her silent question.

Pepper furrowed her brow. "What happened to the old one?"

Tony winced a little. "Uh, well the old element, palladium, it was…it was poisoning me basically. I spent the last six months of my time at SHIELD trying to find a replacement once it got really bad. I hadn't been able to test it properly before I had to leave so Don's just giving me the once over."

"It took you six months to find a replacement?" Pepper asked, shocked.

Tony nodded. "Well, I tried every single element in existence until it got to the point where I had to create this one. Well, I didn't really create it exactly, I went to a country called Wakanda for a while and managed to bring back a metal called Vibranium. It's only found out there, and when I brought it back I just kind of refined it a little and…well it stopped the poisoning."

Pepper stepped forward and traced the fading coloured lines around the reactor. "Is that the poisoning?"

Tony swallowed and nodded. "Yeah…it's pretty much gone now. Right doc?"

"Uh huh." Blake said, looking up from his clipboard and laying it aside, shuffling forward on his chair again. "You shouldn't need to worry about that again. From what Jarvis tells me, you'll get a lot of mileage out of that baby."

The younger man grinned and sat up, pulling out the cable attached to his chest and stretching. "So I'm good to go right?"

Don shook his head and leant back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "I want to see the Virus."

Tony's smile faded a little and Pepper's eyebrows rose dramatically.

"A virus? What virus?" she said, looking from Don to Tony. "I thought you said you were ok?"

Tony sighed. "I'm fine Pepper, honestly. It's not really a virus in the traditional sense. It's…basically, the poison got to a stage where the only way I could stay alive long enough to finish the refining process was to take this Virus that Banner cooked up. He called it the Extremis, it's a techno-organic virus, it essentially…well it's kind of hard to explain what it does without showing you so…"

Tony held out his right arm and closed his eyes, evening out his breathing. Within seconds, the hair on his arm started to stand on end and the pores began to bleed. Pepper gasped and Blake shifted closer and the blood, or whatever it was, began to mould together, becoming thicker and shinier and…more solid, until his right forearm was covered from finger tip to elbow in armour. Tony flexed his hand as he opened his eyes and grinned. "Cool, huh?"

Pepper was gaping at his arm, struggling to believe that he'd literally just bled armour through his skin. Blake, on the other hand, took hold of Tony's arm and examined it studiously.

"This is extraordinary." He whispered. "I'd heard of the Virus but never believed…it's amazing from both a scientific and medical point of view." He did a few bending motions with Tony's elbow and wrist and then performed a blood pressure test, whistling once done. "Full range of motion and no stress on the blood flow…are there any side affects at all?"

Tony shook his head, glancing at Pepper as she took his hand in hers, studying it herself. "Nothing at all. If anything it's improved my health. I heal quicker, I can activate it at a moment's notice. I can feel things with it, but it's still armour, I can't get hurt by anything touching it."

Blake nodded and scratched his chin. "It sounds as if it's lying dormant in your nervous system…but that doesn't explain where the hell it comes from. Perhaps in your marrow? Hmm…very peculiar…I wonder if Logan would have an insight."

He stood up and grabbed his cane, hobbling towards the door and up the stairs, bidding them both good night as he left. Tony stared after him and then looked at Pepper.

"Did I just…baffle him?" he laughed. Pepper smiled a little stiffly and gently reached out for his arm. She held his wrist gently and ran her fingers down his forearm.

"This is amazing, Tony." She whispered. "Is this how you got home?"

Tony nodded, staring avidly at her as she caressed the metal. "Yeah. I managed to programme in a cloaking device, which was kind of difficult because I had to basically learn the code to make it work. No way to upgrade the suit." He clarified at Pepper's confused look.

She shook her head in amazement and let go of his arm. "This is…it's insane. How the hell did you manage to do all this whilst on the run? You've managed to do…this, and create your element…it's incredible."

Tony smiled bashfully and retracted his armour, rubbing his wrist slightly. "Well, ya know, I built the first one in a cave with a box of scraps, and I had the entirety of SHIELD's expertise to help me with this one, so…it wasn't that much of a big deal." He shrugged and hopped off the chair and stretched, scratching his head. "So, you had an argument with Robert? You ok?"

Pepper tensed her jaw and cleared her throat, looking away from him. Tony sighed. "Forget it. It's none of my business, sorry."

She rolled her eyes and huffed a breath through her nose. "No, it's fine. It's just…he keeps ragging on me about how much time I'm spending away from home and I'm running out of excuses. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, it's just difficult to keep lying to someone you love. I understand why I can't tell him, obviously, but I feel awful for lying to him and making him suspicious."

Tony sighed and ran a hand through his hair, leaning against the desk opposite her. "I'm sorry. I know you didn't ask to be involved in any of this. You have no idea how grateful I am that you're still here though, Pepper, and it won't be for much longer, I promise, and then you can go back to normal."

Pepper nodded, smiling a little and hopped up onto the chair Tony had vacated. "What will you do when all this is over?" she asked him. "I mean, you're dead right now, what's gonna happen when you…come back?"

Tony shrugged and picked up a screwdriver from the desk, twirling it between his fingers. "I don't know. I guess if this all goes the right way, SHIELD will need a new leader, so I guess I'll go back up to the airship. Assuming SHIELD is allowed to continue after all this of course." He smiled and looked up at her, but his grin quickly vanished when he saw the look on her face.

"So you're just going to up and leave again?" she asked.

Tony furrowed his brows and put the screwdriver down. "Well…yeah. I mean, I wouldn't have come back if I'd had another choice, and I figured it's probably best if once this is over I just…vanish again and pretend this never happened."

Pepper scoffed and looked away from him. "Typical Tony Stark, always running away from his mistake, never taking responsibility."

Tony's jaw fell open and his voice rose. "Never taking responsibility? What the hell do you think I'm trying to do now?" he shouted.

She gave him a steely look and sniffed, her eyes growing red with unshed tears. "I think you're trying to save yourself. Again. But you don't want to take responsibility for ripping our family apart."

"Hey!" he snapped, stepping towards her. "I left because I thought it would fix things," he stressed. "I needed you to move on and I thought the only way I could get you to do that was to make you hate me."

"I do hate you!" she screamed, jumping off the chair. "I hate everything you've put me through, I hate the fact that you thought leaving would fix everything, I hate the fact that I thought you'd died without ever coming back, but most of all I hate the fact that despite everything it only took me about three seconds to fall right back in love with you."

Tony recoiled, staring at her through watery eyes. "How can you say that?" he asked hoarsely. "I ruined everything between us."

Shaking her head and wiping her eyes as tears broke free, Pepper's voice cracked as she spoke. "You only ruined it when you left. I spent the last ten years mourning the loss of both my child and you." She looked back at him and let out a small sob. "When you left, you took part of me with you and I've never been able to repair that part."

She turned away from him, covering her face with her hands and shaking with sobs. Tears started slipping down Tony's own cheeks as he stepped forward, tentatively placing his hand on her shoulder. Pepper shrugged him off and tried to step around him but he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her against his bare chest in a tight hug. She immediately folded into his arms, wrapping her own around his neck and crying quietly into his neck as he squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his face into her hair.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled. "I'm so sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing, I thought you'd be better off without me."

Pepper swallowed harshly and lifted her head, sniffing and raising her hands to his face, wiping his tears with her thumbs. "Yeah, well for a genius, you're a real dumbass."

The corner of his mouth turned up slightly and his Adam's apple bobbed. "So I've been told."

Pepper's gaze flitted between his eyes before she tilted her head up and pressed her lips lightly to Tony's. He froze, inhaling sharply through his nose but slowly responding when she pressed harder, pushing her fingers into his hair and pulling him closer to her. He began kissing her back, tightening his arms around her waist, and then suddenly everything was happening ten times quicker than real life, until Tony was pressing her roughly against the desk he'd been leaning on, running his hands over every patch of skin he could find, Pepper's shirt lying crumpled on the floor and her legs wrapped tightly around his waist. His mouth was attacking her neck with licks and nibbles and her hands had wound themselves into his hair as she moaned softly, arching into his mouth and body, rocking her hips against the obvious bulge in his jeans.

Tony grunted, leaning up and popping open the button on her jeans and unzipping the fly, hastily tugging them down her legs along with her panties. At the same time, Pepper reached up and whipped his belt through its loops, pulling down his zipper and pushing the denim over his hips, tugging on his boxers. He kicked his jeans away and pulled his boxers down the rest of the way, leaning back over Pepper and kissing her deeply, taking himself in hand to push gently inside her. Pepper whimpered softly and Tony growled, sinking in to the hilt and holding himself there, pulling his mouth away and resting his forehead against hers, panting slightly. After a few seconds, Pepper tilted her head up to kiss him again, tugging on his hair.

"You can move." She whispered against his mouth. Tony exhaled heavily and adjusted his position a little, tensing his jaw.

"Gimme a sec…it's been a while. I don't want this to be over before it even starts." He gasped.

Pepper smiled and kissed him again gently, rolling her hips into his. He groaned breathlessly and slowly withdrew before pushing back in deep, starting a steady rhythm and making their hips meet with every thrust. Pepper moaned into his mouth and trailed her hands down his neck and chest. Tony caught them in his own hands and pulled them away, pressing them down onto the surface of the desk above her head, linking their fingers and moving his mouth along her jaw to her ear, sucking the lobe into his mouth. Gasping, Pepper closed her eyes and rocked against his body, matching him thrust for thrust as the slow burn began in the pit of her stomach, building and winding slowly until she let out a low yodel of release, tightening her legs around his waist and pushing her hips into his. Tony managed a couple more faltered thrust before pushing in as far as he could and gasping against her neck, mouthing her skin and climaxing hard. Pepper moaned again softly, squeezing his fingers with her own, turning her head to softly kiss his neck as they both gasped for breath.

After Tony had recovered, he let go of Pepper's hands and pushed himself up, gently pulling out of her and kissing her slowly on the mouth, cupping her cheek.

"Stay with me tonight." He said, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against hers. He felt her nod and grinned, kissing her again and sighing heavily. "I love you."

Pepper smiled tearfully and nuzzled his nose.

"I love you too."

**TBC**


	7. Chapter 7

So, I'm down to the last two pages of notes, and there's another seven chapters to go. Assuming I don't separate them out or add things in. As always, thanks to Marvel Comic Database and Marvel Universe Wiki for background information. Apologies if it feels like I rushed things, the notes for this chapter were the ones I couldn't remember a single detail of when I had to re-write them, and I suck at filler chapters. Also, the license plate number described below was Googled and **is not mine, nor belongs to anyone I know**, so if you know it, blame Google.

**Disclaimer: How many times do you want me to say they're not mine?**

* * *

The weeks had flown by. Tony had spent the last seven weeks studiously training and planning with the other Secret Avengers, and although some parts of the plan were still missing, namely Tony's secret weapon, he felt that they were ready. With the aid of the cloaking capability of the Extremis suit, he had travelled to Wakanda in order to gain the help of the Black Panther and his tribe. Having been gone for nearly a week, Pepper had stayed at home with Robert, who was pretty much overjoyed to have her with him with no 'work' to get in the way.

And that's how the problem started. The problem she was now staring at. Two little blue problems staring her right in the face, mocking her. She sighed and looked at the box one more time, praying she'd simply read the instructions wrong, but no, she had in fact read them right the first seven times she looked at them. Plus, how difficult was it to pee on a stick?

Pepper Potts was pregnant, and to make things worse, she didn't have the faintest idea who the father was. If she was more than two months gone, the baby was Robert's, but less than that and it could just as likely be Tony's. She sighed and buried her face in her hands, digging the palms of her hands into her eyes.

"High School called, they want their drama back." She mumbled to herself before getting up and disposing of the box and the test, exiting the bathroom and heading into the bedroom to get dressed. Rationally, she knew what she had to do, but that didn't mean she was looking forward to it, or indeed wanted to do it, but she had to, it was the only option. Well, not the only option, but certainly the most sensible, and that's what she needed to focus on now; what was best for her child.

Upon exiting the bedroom, she heard voices coming from the kitchen and headed towards them, finding Robert and Rhodey sitting at the centre island. Rhodey's expression darkened slightly as he spotted Pepper and he motioned to Robert, who had his back to her. Robert span on his stool and grinned at the sight of her.

"Hey babe, we didn't wake you did we?" he asked, tugging her towards him as she walked forwards. "We were just going over old missions."

Pepper smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "No, I've been up for a while. How did physio go?"

Rhodey laughed and slapped Robert on the shoulder. "He totally nailed it. The doc thinks he'll be back to work within the month"

"But," Robert added. "She thinks I'll always have a limp and I might get tired easily when walking so…desk job." His smile faltered slightly.

Pepper frowned and stroked his cheek. "I'm sorry. I know how much you loved your job."

Robert shrugged a little. "Nah, it's…it'll be fine. It pays the same and hey, it's a lot safer than what I was doing, so you won't have to spend any more sleepless nights waiting for me." He quirked one side of his mouth and leant forward to kiss her and, awkwardly, Pepper responded. Thankfully, Rhodey interrupted by making a gagging noise, to which Robert span and punched him on the shoulder.

"Hey, I'm just reminding you that there are other people in the room, man."

"Anyway." Pepper said, drawing Robert's attention back to her. "I, um…I have to tell you something. I…I took a test this morning and…I'm pregnant."

Rhodey's eyebrows shot up and Robert blinked at her.

"Pregnant?" he asked. "Pregnant? As in…as in babies? We're…I'm…I'm gonna be a daddy?"

Pepper bit her lip and nodded once. Robert stared at her for a second before pulling her roughly forwards and kissing her hard, pulling back a short while later and grinning madly.

"You're pregnant? This…this is amazing baby." He cupped her cheek and kissed her again.

"Congratulations, dude." Rhodey said, smile not quite reaching his eyes as he slapped Robert on the shoulder again. "I didn't think you wanted kids."

"I didn't." Robert said. "I mean before you." He added to Pepper as her smile slipped a little. "I never…I never thought I'd be this happy with one person or that I'd want everything we have and…Ginny, will you marry me?"

Rhodey, who had been taking a swig of his beer, choked on his mouthful and coughed, hitting himself on the chest to clear it. Pepper stared at Robert like a deer in headlights.

"Rob…"

"Look, I don't have a ring or anything yet," he added before she could finish. "But I will. I've been wanting to ask you for a while now and this…what better sign could I ask for than this? I want to be a real family with you, Ginny. Marry me."

Pepper swallowed. Her heart was telling her one thing, but her brain was screaming another, and in the end she knew she had to do the right thing for the life growing inside her.

"Yes." She said softly, smiling shakily.

Both Robert's and Rhodey's eyebrows rose and Robert jumped off his stool to hug her tightly, spinning her around once before setting her down and kissing her.

"I love you so much." He said, grinning madly.

"Love you too." Pepper said, not quite meeting his eyes.

Rhodey cleared his throat and tipped his beer towards them in a salute. "Double congratulations I guess." He mumbled before taking another swig. Robert laughed and stepped away from Pepper.

"I'm gonna go call my parents, I'll be right back." He said, kissing her again and dashing from the room. Pepper ran a hand through her hair and glanced awkwardly at Rhodey as he stared at her.

"Something you want to say to me, Rhodey?" she asked him. Rhodey shrugged and took another swig of his beer, still staring. Pepper sighed and closed her eyes briefly before stepping around him to grab her purse. "I have to go to work, can you let Rob know when he comes back?" Rhodey grunted in acknowledgement and Pepper rolled her eyes before heading out of the kitchen.

Robert came back a few moments later and looked around before sitting next to Rhodey again.

"Work." Rhodey supplied before Robert could ask. "What did the 'rents say?"

Robert beamed and brought his own beer up to his lips. "They're ecstatic. They both love Ginny and they're really happy for us."

"So am I, man." Rhodey said. "I mean it. You both seem really happy together."

Robert nodded and put his beer down. "Yeah, though to be honest, it seemed like we were gonna break up a couple months ago."

Rhodey's brows furrowed. "Really? How come?"

Robert shrugged. "We just kept arguing about her working hours and her being away on business every five minutes. Didn't she tell you about it when she stayed at your place?"

Rhodey stared at him for a second. "Uh…when was this?"

"Two months ago?" Robert said. "We had a fight and she went to your place. She stayed the night."

Rhodey shook his head. "In the two decades we've known each other, she's never slept over at my place man."

Shaking his head, Robert's eyes widened. "N-no, she…she said she was going to stay at yours. She came back the next morning…" he got up from the stool and looked around frantically before grabbing his cell phone and his keys. Rhodey followed him with his eyes.

"Maybe she stayed at Happy's?" Rhodey offered. Robert shook his head.

"Happy was on call that night, and he would have told me if she'd turned up." He ran a hand through his hair and headed for the door. "This can't be happening."

Rhodey quickly followed him out of the house and grabbed his shoulder as he approached the car. "Whoa, stop for a second and think. Where are you going?"

"I'm going to find out what the hell is happening." He replied calmly, cell pressed to his ear. "Yeah, this is Agent Owens, I need a GPS trace on a vehicle, license number Five Bravo Bravo Mike Two Niner Niner." He kept his cell in place with his shoulder as he unlocked his car and climbed inside. "Ok, patch it through to this number." He placed his cell into the cradle on the dashboard and flipped it sideways. Within seconds, a map flashed up with a gun sight, zooming in on Pepper's location.

"Rob, this is insane." Rhodey said, leaning in through the driver's window. "She probably went to one of her girlfriend's houses that night."

"I need to be sure, James." Robert said, eyes fixed on the map as it calculated Pepper's position.

"What, you got a gateway to the past on that thing?" Rhodey asked incredulously. "This isn't a DeLorean. She's gone to work, dude."

"Has she?" Robert asked as the map beeped, showing a little green dot moving West. "Stark Enterprises is due North, where the hell is she going?"

Rhodey shook his head. "Rob, just call her-"

"James!" Robert shouted. "I am really not in the mood to argue right now, so either get off the car or get in it."

Rhodey stared at him for a split second longer before skirting around the car and hopping into the passenger seat, barely slamming the door closed before Robert peeled out of the driveway and headed towards the now stationary dot.

* * *

Upon entering the mansion, Pepper was greeted with an oddly familiar sight. Familiar to her at least. Most of the Secret Avengers where milling around the lounge; Peter and Blake were engaging in a game of chess by the window; Logan was sharpening his claws on the couch, sitting next to Punisher who was cleaning his guns, and she could make out Cable and Luke Cage out in the garden, both meditating. As she closed the door, Peter's head snapped up and he smiled.

"Hey Pep, Tony's down in his cave." He said cheerily.

"Checkmate." Black mumbled, drawing his attention back to the game.

"What?" Peter said, shocked. "How the hell do you keep doing that?"

Blake laughed and started re-setting the pieces. "Boy, I've lived longer than you could ever imagine. I've had ample enough time to practise."

Peter mumbled angrily and moved his first pawn as the game started again. Pepper shook her head and started off to the stairs down to the workshop, only to find Tony ascending them. His face broke into a broad grin when he saw her and he took the last few steps two at a time in his haste to get to her, scooping her up in a hug when he reached the ground floor and kissing her deeply.

"Mmmissedyou." He mumbled against her mouth.

"Get a room." Logan and Punisher said at the same time, neither taking their eyes from their respective tasks. Tony pulled away from Pepper and glared at the two of them as Peter and Blake chuckled before looking back to the woman in his arms and smiling.

"Hi." He said, setting her down on her feet again, his smile faltering somewhat when he saw the look on her face. "You ok?"

Pepper cleared her throat and smiled a little. "Yeah. How…how did the meeting with the Black Panther go?"

Tony shrugged a little. "Not bad. Not great, but not bad. He said if it comes to it, he'll help, but he was pretty reluctant. He agrees with us, but he doesn't want to interfere with foreign matters…are you sure you're ok?"

Pepper sighed and scratched the back of her neck. "Um…I need to talk to you."

Tony scrutinised her for a second before nodding and looking at the group. "Guys, you mind giving us a minute?"

Blake and Peter rose immediately and vacated the area, and after a little prodding on Logan's part, he and Punisher followed. Once the room was clear, Tony led Pepper over to the couch and they sat down.

"So what's up?" he asked. Pepper chewed her lip and stared at the coffee table. Tony reached out and grabbed her hand. "Hey, whatever it is, you can tell me. What's wrong?"

Reluctantly raising her eyes, Pepper took a deep breath and swallowed. "I'm pregnant."

A range of expressions flowed across Tony's face before he let out a bark of laughter and pulled her into a tight hug, smiling like an idiot.

"Pepper, that's…that's amazing news!" he said, pulling back after a second. "I can't believe it, Pepper, I'm so happy, I never…" his enthusiasm faltered slightly when he caught the look on her face. "You don't seem very happy about this."

Pepper stood up abruptly and ran a hand through her hair. "It's complicated."

Furrowing his brows, Tony shook his head. "How's that now?"

Pepper turned to him, wringing her hands slightly. "Tony, I don't…I don't know if the baby is yours or Robert's."

Tony drew back slightly. "Well…ok, I mean we can work around that if it comes to it-"

"He proposed to me when I told him." Pepper said quickly. Tony's eyebrow's shot up and he opened his mouth to speak. "And I said yes."

Tony closed his mouth, unable to think of a response, simply staring at her with a dazed expression.

"I can't do this, Tony." Pepper said, her voice wavering slightly as the back of her eyes began to burn. "I can't raise a child like this, it's not safe."

Tony shook his head, standing up. "We're days away from finishing this-"

"No, you're not." Pepper interrupted. "For God's sake, Tony, you're still trying to find people to help you. There are seven of you and God knows how many of them."

"But I know we can do this!" Tony stressed, stepping forwards. "I have a plan, Pepper, and I know it'll work, and I know we'll have more than enough support. You can't…you can't just leave."

Pepper shook her head. "I can't stay." She whispered. "I just can't. It's not right. I should never…I shouldn't have let it get this far. I shouldn't have started this in the first place. I love Robert."

"You love me more." Tony said. "You know you love me more."

Pepper wiped her eye quickly as a tear threatened. "It's not enough."

Tony's Adam's apple bobbed and his eyes grew red. "What if the baby is mine? Don't I get a choice in this?"

Pepper let out a disbelieving sound and stared at him. "Tony, you're a dead man, hiding from the Government with a bunch of outlaw superheroes, would you let your child live like this?" Tony remained silent and Pepper nodded. "Exactly. I'm sorry, Tony." She turned and walked to the front door, Tony following her. As she opened it and stepped outside, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him.

"You can tell me it's over, tell me you don't love me any more, but I'm gonna go ahead and keep loving you." He said, his voice breaking. Pepper sniffed tearfully and pressed a soft kiss to his lips before turning back to her car and walking swiftly towards it, slipping into the driver's seat and speeding away from the mansion.

Tony slumped against the door frame as he watched her car drive off, waiting until it was just a spec in the distance before slowly pushing away from the door and heading back into the house.

* * *

Hidden amongst the trees outside the main gates of the mansion, Robert lowered his binoculars as Pepper's car sped towards them, turning once past the grounds and heading back to their house. Rhodey watched her go before turning to Robert expectantly.

"Well?" he asked. "What happened? What did you see?"

Robert turned his head to stare at Rhodey before yanking his cell from its cradle and dialling a number.

"This is Agent Owens, get me Director Hill. Tony Stark is alive."

**TBC**


	8. Chapter 8

Ok, so this is where the fun starts. I wrote and re-wrote these notes so many times they're pretty much engraved onto my brain. Hopefully that means they're worth the wait. There's gonna be thirteen chapters in total, including an epilogue, and I'm finally one chapter ahead of posting agian instead of writing to post, so updates should be quicker. Once again, thanks to Marvel Comics Database and Marvel Universe Wiki for background information.

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

* * *

After taking the rest of the day to get his head together, Tony gathered the team in the lounge to once more run over the plan. He'd been doing it at least once a week to ensure that they were always prepared for what would more than likely be a sudden invasion of the SHIELD airship. Everyone but Blake, who had gone on another sweep to find more help, was gathered around a blueprint Tony had managed to 'secure' of the inside of the airship.

"So, assuming getting up there goes of without a hitch, which it should, I want Punisher and Logan to enter here through this ventilation system above the entrance for the research facility. Now, it will be heavily guarded, but the soldiers down there aren't tactically minded. More shoot first and ask questions later, so taking them out shouldn't be that hard." He looked towards Logan and Punisher. "Even if they manage to alert the other recruits, they're several floors up so you'll have more than enough time to meet up with Cable and Luke. You two enter through the sleeping quarters and wait for their signal before making your way down-"

Tony stopped talking as a ferocious crack of lightening came from behind him, signalling Thor's arrival. He turned to greet him, only to discover he wasn't alone.

"Look who I found wandering up and down the dark streets of Malibu." Blake said, having transformed back from Thor.

"A little birdy told me you guys might need some assistance?" a tall man, clad in a red leather suit covering his entire body and head, holding a folded cane stepped forward. Tony beamed and moved to shake the man's hand.

"Daredevil, how the hell did you know?" he laughed. Daredevil, who had been standing slightly off to the right, unfolded his cane and tapped it against the floor, immediately turning to Tony as he 'saw' him and grabbing his outstretched hand, handing him a small disk with his other.

"Call me Matt." He said. "And like I said, a little birdy told me. Natasha got your message, Tony."

Tony's eyes lit up and let out a disbelieving noise as he took the disk. "That's fantastic! She's with us, then?"

Matt nodded. "One hundred percent. Everything you need is on that disk apparently, and there's a secure IP address you can contact her on."

Tony was practically bouncing on the spot as he turned to the rest of the group. "Everyone, what Matt had just handed over is what we've been waiting for." He walked over to one of Jarvis' wall mounted harddrives and inserted the disk. "Jarvis, I need everything on that disk moved onto secure sector seven, throw every firewall you have at it and load it up to the suit's upload drive." He turned back to the group as images and files started projecting themselves around him. "Natasha and I worked together at SHIELD, she helped me out a lot when I was on the run and now she's risking her own skin to give us the information we need. Now we have Hill's plan."

The disk finished loading and Tony studied it. There were names of registered supers, formulas for scientific experiments, blueprints for machines and various other files that looked legitimate, but there was more. As Tony manipulated the projection, hacking into ghost files and extracting more data, he exposed the sinister business SHIELD was really involved with. Blood samples, test results, video and image files, all indicating that the registered super-humans weren't just being registered, they were being harvested. The registered list sent from SHIELD to the Government appeared to show less than half of the actual captured list. In reality, super-humans with more dangerous, more interesting abilities were being kept secret and, from what Tony could gather, their powers were being ripped from them and refined for some sort of-

"Super Soldier Serum?" Logan asked from his position on the couch, gazing at the projected filed. "What the hell is that?"

Tony shook his head in disbelief. "It's the serum that turned Steve Rogers into Captain America, but this…this is something else. This is a combination of super abilities into one serum. This is wrong." He delved deeper into the files and ran a hand through his hair. "I knew Hill was up to something but…this is sick."

"So I take it this means time is of the essence?" Matt asked. Tony nodded and turned back to the group.

"We have to move on this as soon as possible." He said, closing the file. "Jarvis, send the plan files to Natasha through a ghost file 'Black Widow'. Pete, clue Matt in on the plan, everyone else, we need to-"

A flash of bright orange from behind Tony stopped him talking and he span around to face the front door. Punisher leapt up from his position and withdrew his guns, pointing them at the door as Sue and Johnny Storm barged through it.

"Tony!" Sue rushed over to him as he indicated for Punisher to lower his weapons. "Tony, you have to leave now. They're coming, they know you're alive."

Tony's eyes went wide and the rest of the group leapt into action.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked. "How the hell do they know he's alive?"

"Reed just contacted us." Johnny said from his lookout point at the window. "Some agent, Robert Owens, I think he said, was spying on the house and they saw him. They're going to attack the house."

The hair on the back of Tony's neck stood on end and he started towards the door but Blake held him back. "That's Pepper's fiancé; I have to get her to safety!"

"She'll be fine, Stark." Blake said, pushing him back into the house. "We have to leave. Now!"

Tony opened his mouth to argue, but before he could get a word out, the lights went out and the entire house went dark. A soft chink sounded from Tony's left as Logan drew out his claws.

"Jarvis, status report." Tony hissed. Jarvis remained silent. "Jarvis?"

The sound of breaking glass came from behind them and Blake started to spark, preparing to transform into Thor, but before he could complete it, Punisher clubbed him over the head with the butt of his gun, shooting Logan in the head at the same time and grabbing Peter, pressing the muzzle to his temple. Cable and Luke jumped up as a swarm of Cape Killers and SHIELD agents surrounded them. Tony started suiting up but Punisher pressed his gun harder to Peter's head.

"Do you really want to go down this road, Stark?" he hissed, pointing his other pistol at Daredevil who was tapping his cane on the ground. "Drop the stick, Murdock." He sneered. "I knew it was you. Even when you denied it, I knew."

"What are you doing, Frank?" Tony growled as Cable and Luke prepared for a fight. "You don't know who the hell these people are!"

"But I know who you are!" he shot back. "I know you're an outlaw, and outlaw's need to be dealt with, locked away. That's where I come in." he tightened his grip on Peter. "So, either you and your troop come quietly, or there's gonna be even more innocent lives on your hands. Which is it to be?"

"Don't do it, Tony!" Peter shouted. "You have to fight, you have to finish this, you can't let them get away with it!"

Tony stared at Peter, swallowing hard before retracting what little armour he'd started up and motioning to Luke and Cable to stand down. They did so, reluctantly, and were instantly hit with stunners. As they fell, another agent moved towards Matt and grabbed his cane, cuffing him and dragging him outside.

"Wise choice." Punisher mocked as more agents started rounding them up. He let Peter go long enough for him also to be cuffed and taken away. "You're lucky I hit the Norse wonder over there when I did, if he's transformed, no way in hell you'd be able to lift his weapon." He said to a couple of agents as they dragged the unconscious forms of Blake and Logan out of the house, followed by Cable and Luke. Tony shook his head.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked as Punisher stepped towards him. "Do you even know what you're doing?"

"I'm doing my job, Stark." Punisher grinned as a Cape Killer pointed a gun at him. Instantly, Tony's head began to throb painfully. He raised his hands to his temples, scrunching his eyes closed as he crumpled to the floor in agony. "Fucking outlaw." Punisher sneered, before kicking Tony in the head, knocking him out cold. Two agents then grabbed his limp body and dragged him outside to the containment unit. Punisher gave the mansion one last look before bending and picking up Mjölnir, which was in its cane form, and following the SHIELD agents out the door, twirling it in his fingers as he went.

* * *

Later that night, after extensive interviews, reports and meetings, Robert returned home to find Pepper pacing the living room, wringing her hands together. She dashed towards him as he closed the door and jumped into his arms, hugging him.

"Robert! Where the hell have you been?" she asked, pulling back after a second. "I've been worried sick!"

"Have you?" Robert asked calmly, extricating himself from her arms and stepping around her. Perplexed, Pepper turned as he walked away and furrowed her brows.

"Of course I have." She said quietly. "You weren't here when I came home from work, where were you?"

Robert sighed and turned to face her. "I've been at base all day." He said. When Pepper said nothing, he continued. "See, I found something out today, you might have some idea of what it is. It's about Tony Stark."

Pepper paled visibly and swallowed. "W-what about him?"

Smiling sadly, Robert pulled leant against the back of the couch, staring at her. "I know, Gin. I know Tony's alive, I know you've been helping him to stay hidden, and I also know you've been sleeping with him. Don't." he raised a finger in warning as she opened her mouth to protest. "Don't lie to me any more than you already have. You're in enough trouble."

"But I don't know-"

"Don't fucking lie to me!" Robert yelled, slamming his hand down on the back of the couch. Pepper jumped and froze, staring at him with wide eyes. Robert set his jaw and stepped forward. "The baby's his, isn't it? Isn't it!"

Pepper stepped back as he advanced, scared. "I…I don't know. Robert, please-"

"No!" he yelled again. "I'm done listening to you lie to me. You are going to tell me exactly what he's planning, right now."

Pepper remained silent and Robert shoved her into the wall, pinning her there.

"Tell me!"

"I'll never tell you anything!" Pepper snapped, staring defiantly back at him. Robert snarled and back-handed her across the face, watching as she fell to the floor, clutching her jaw and curling into a ball.

"You will tell me." Robert said before bending and grabbing her arm, hoisting her up and dragging her out of the front door, shoving her into a waiting SHIELD vehicle and slamming the door shut.

**TBC**


	9. Chapter 9

Because you've all been so nice, have another chapter.

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Thanks once again to Marvel Universe Wiki and Marvel Comics Database for background info.**

* * *

It was dark when Tony woke up. He knew he was in some kind of cell, it was dank and cold. He was on his knees on a rough concrete floor, his hands cuffed behind his back. His head was pounding, his muscles and joints were protesting to being in such an awkward position and he could taste and smell blood. The cell wasn't very big, barely twenty square feet, so it must be a temporary holding cell, which meant that he'd be moved somewhere in the near future. Trying to take inventory on the situation, he raised his head wearily and squinted through the dark. There were no windows, but he could just about make out a door straight ahead of him –probably heavily guarded- and a chair to the right of it. There didn't seem to be a whole lot else, not that he'd expected much more, and certainly no feasible means of escape. He turned his wrists experimentally to see how tightly he was cuffed, only to find that both hands were completely covered with some kind of metal plated container. He tried to activate the Extremis, but he was either far too weak or something was stopping him.

A noise coming from the doorway stopped his movements, and seconds later the door opened with a loud metal creak. A slim figure stood in the doorway, and he didn't need to wait for the blinding light to come on to know who it was.

"Well, well, well." Maria said, walking slowly into the room and standing a few feet in front of him. "Tony Stark. Back from the dead." She shook her head and smiled. "I knew you wouldn't disappoint. I expect you want to know why you're here?" she paused for a minute as if waiting for him to respond. "Anthony Edward Stark, you have been arrested under suspicion of fraud, terrorism and treason, amongst other things, but you already knew that, didn't you?" Tony said nothing, staring up at her with hateful eyes. "Your little chums have been arrested under the same charges, and although we don't expect there to be a trial-"

She was cut short as the door was thrown open again and Captain America stormed through it, glaring at Tony. Maria stepped out of the way just in time as Steve slammed his fist into Tony's face, sending him crumpling to the floor, before heaving him back onto his knees and punching him again. Tony's head snapped to the side and he groggily brought it back up to look at Steve.

"Why did you do it, Stark?" Steve hissed in Tony's ear before hitting him again. "Why did you kill Nick?" he grabbed the front of Tony's bedraggled shirt and heaved him onto his feet, slamming him into the wall behind him and connecting his fist with Tony's stomach with a sickening thud. Tony gasped for breath and slumped forward, but Steve slammed him into the wall again, holding him up. "Tell me!"

Tony just stared at Steve, blood dripping from both his nose and mouth and practically seeping from an open cut near his eye. Steve roared with anger and punched Tony again, letting him drop to the floor this time and collapsing onto his side, no longer able to hold himself up. Five Cape Killers swarmed into the room and wrench an enraged Steve off Tony, still reaching for him as they finally managed to drag him out of the door. Maria cleared her throat and turned back to Tony, raising her eyebrows slightly.

"Well," she said. "That was…unexpected. I must apologise for Steve's behaviour, but he does have a point. Why did you kill Nick, Tony?"

Tony coughed and spat out a mouthful of blood, groaning a little. "I think we both know I didn't kill him." He managed to grind out hoarsely.

Maria smiled and nodded understandingly. "So what was your plan, Stark?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Gather together a little following and invade us? You must have known you were doomed to fail from the beginning?" Tony remained silent and Maria sighed. "I thought you might be difficult. It doesn't matter, we've got plenty of time." She turned to leave but stopped in the doorway, looking over her shoulder at him and smirking. "I wonder if Miss Potts can tell me your plan."

Tony froze for a split second before letting out an enraged yell, shuffling back up onto his knees and heaving himself to his feet. He stumbled forwards towards Maria, but before he could even make a second step, the cuffs binding his hands beeped and an electric current flowed through his body, stopping him in his tracks and forcing him back onto the floor again, twitching as every nerve in his body sparked and fizzed. Maria shook her head and closed the door behind her as Tony continued to convulse on the floor of his cell.

Both Captain America and Punisher were waiting outside Tony's cell, Punisher trying to keep Steve calm.

"Rogers," Maria addressed Captain America as he glared at her. "You have to remain calm, we have the situation handled. He's in custody, justice will be served."

"It's not enough." Steve snapped. "He needs to pay for what he did."

"And he will." Maria insisted, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Trust me, we have everything under control."

Steve shook his head and pushed himself off the wall, shrugging her hand off his shoulder before turning and storming off along the corridor. Punisher watched him go, raising his eyebrows but saying nothing. Robert rounded the corner as Steve hurried past and nervously pressed himself against the wall, making his way towards Maria.

"Agent Owens." Maria greeted him. "You did extremely well today."

Robert nodded and cleared his throat. "Thank you, ma'am. Um…may I speak with you? Privately?"

Maria nodded and walked with him a little way along the corridor away from Punisher. "What is it, Agent?"

Robert swallowed nervously before sighing. "I don't feel comfortable with having Ginny locked away." He said. "She was barely a part of this, and if you think about it, none of this could have been possible without her."

Maria smiled. "Don't worry, Owens. Miss Potts will be released in due course. As soon as Stark tells us what his plan was and who else was involved, she'll be free to go." Robert still didn't look too happy and opened his mouth to protest, but Maria interrupted him. "Why don't you go and see her? Explain what's going on. She may be more inclined to talk to you."

Robert nodded. "Yeah, yeah I'll go do that. Make sure she's ok." he turned and went back the way he'd come, towards the other cells, and Maria turned back to Punisher, who was shaking his head.

"That guy is a real pushover." He sneered, pushing himself away from the wall and following Maria as she walked past him.

"It makes him a valuable part of my team, Frank." Maria said, ignoring the look Punisher gave her for using his name. "He's less likely to be another Tony Stark."

Punisher laughed as they descended to the lower portions of the ship, into the research department. "Yeah, one of him is more than enough." He looked around, realising they'd gone further into the bowels of the ship than he'd ever been before. "Do I have clearance to be down here?"

Maria smiled and stopped as they reached a large, heavily secured door. "Would you like to see what all this has been for? What I'm working towards?"

Punisher furrowed his brows. "I know what you've been working towards. You want to get outlaw scum off the streets."

"That's part of it, certainly." She agreed, typing a code rapidly into the control panel on the door. It beeped once to say the code had been accepted and made a thunking sound as the lock released. Maria pushed the door open and stepped inside, Punisher following, mouth hanging open once he saw what was inside the room. There were dozens of machines adorning the walls, and with each machine there appeared to be a person hooked up to it. Literally. Each person seemed to be unconscious and hanging limply from secured fixings in the wall, cables and wires attached wherever possible on their bodies, at least three SHIELD employees in white coats monitoring the computers per person. Humans, mutants, aliens, anyone with an ounce of super-human ability. Punisher's eyes widened as he gazed around him.

"What is this place?" he whispered.

"My life's work." Maria said, leading him further into the room. "We're securing the safety of the nation, of the world, by taking away the dangerous few that could upset the balance."

Punisher walked over to one of the machines and took a closer look at the person hooked up to it. They looked pale, almost ill, and most definitely in pain. "You…you're ripping the powers from them." He realised. "You're killing them."

"We're curing them." Maria corrected. "Some may die, yes, but ultimately, we're doing these…people, a favour."

Shaking his head, Punisher turned back to face her. "And what happens to them when you've harvested their abilities?"

Maria picked up a chart hanging from one of the machines surrounding the room, studying it. "In time, if the individual is able, they're released back into society."

"In time?" Punisher asked. "You mean after everyone has forgotten about them? What happens to their powers? How…how are you even doing this?"

Maria looked up from the chart. "Well, now, that really is classified. What exactly are you getting at, Frank?"

Punisher shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, taking another look around the room. "This…this is more than I signed up for. I thought I was just taking scum off the streets. I thought this was just for the registration act."

"It is." Maria insisted. "But it's so much more than that, can't you see?" Maria hung the chart back up and stepped towards him. "What we're working on will revolutionize science and warfare. Once this is complete, the United States will be better protected than any other country on the planet."

"But at the cost of American lives." Punisher argued back.

"It's for the greater good." Maria said, nodding to one of the agents who stepped up to Punisher, placing a hand on his shoulder. Punisher shook his head again and turned, walking back out of the room, two agents frog marching him all the way out.

* * *

Pepper's head snapped up as her cell door creaked open. She was being kept in one of the custody suites usually put aside for the 'normal' criminals that SHIELD brought through its doors, those without powers or special abilities. It was no less horrible than the others, only less heavily guarded. She saw Robert's form enter and she recoiled slightly. She wasn't bound or restrained in any way, but she remained seated as he entered the room.

"Hey baby," he said in a soothing voice as he closed the door. "How you doing?"

"Me?" Pepper asked, crossing her arms across her chest. "Oh, I'm fine. My fiancé threw me into the back of a car and had me arrested, but other than that, everything's hunky dory."

Robert sighed and grabbed a chair, dragging it over to her and sitting on it, facing her. "You know I didn't have a choice, hon. I had to."

Pepper scoffed and looked away from him, staring at the concrete floor. Robert reached out for the legs of her chair and pulled her towards him.

"Listen to me." He said softly. "Hey." He cupped her cheek and brought her gaze back to him. "We can go home, we can forget all this. We can be a family, Ginny. You, me, and the little life growing inside you. All you need to do is tell Director Hill what Tony's plan was."

Pepper stared at him, before spitting in his face and slapping his hand away. "I hope the baby is Tony's." she said bitterly.

Robert's jaw twitched, and he calmly reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a pocket square and wiping the saliva from his cheek, before lashing out and slapping Pepper across the cheek. She tumbled out of her seat onto the floor with a cry and shuffled away from him quickly. Robert folded the pocket square back up, stowing it back into his pocket and bent over Pepper, looming over her with his hands on his knees.

"You'll feel differently when I get my new assignment." He hissed. "You'll see. Everything will be different." And with that, he straightened back up and exited her cell.

* * *

For the seventh time in the last hour, Natasha opened her secure e-mail account and sighed as a large zero flashed at her. It had been well over a week since she gave Matt the information to give to Tony, and she'd heard nothing from either of them since. Looking around to make sure she wasn't being watched in her corner cubicle, she pressed a few keys and opened up a programme to communicate with Jarvis, typing in the command code and sending a message. After a few minutes of anxious staring, a quiet beep informed her that Jarvis had responded and she opened the programme again.

'Message could not be transmitted'

Cursing under her breath, she re-sent it, gaze flitting around the room as her co-workers went about their daily business.

'Message could not be transmitted'

"Damn it." Natasha hissed, closing the programme and running a hand through her hair. She had a bad feeling things had gone horribly wrong. A feeling that was confirmed seconds later as Maria Hill walked into the office. Instantly, everyone froze, stopping their typing, and stared as she walked into the middle of the office and looked around, beaming.

"Everyone." She said loudly, immediately grabbing their attention. "I have good news. The traitor, Tony Stark, has been captured."

Natasha's mouth dropped open and her eyes widened as others shook their heads in disbelief, trading glances with each other.

"But," one worker piped up. "Ma'am, Tony Stark's dead."

Maria smiled that trademark sinister smile. "That's what we thought, too. But he was caught by our own Agent Robert Owens amidst a plot to storm this very base. He's currently down in the holding cells being prepared for transport to our secure sector, where he will be held until his trial."

The office remained silent for a second before claps rang out amongst the workers, followed by cheers. Maria smiled wider and held her hand up.

"Now now, like I said, hardly any of the credit goes to me, none of this could have been made possible without Agent Owens' help." She said. "I just thought I'd come down here and share this with you, show you that all your hard work is actually doing something, so keep it up." She nodded once and headed out of the office, leaving the people inside buzzing with conversation.

Natasha's heart sank and she slumped back into her seat.

"Damn it."

* * *

Maria headed back down to the sub levels of the ship after her morale speech and spotted Robert coming out of Pepper's cell, slamming the door closed behind him. He saluted her as she approached him.

"Ma'am." He said, standing straight. "I spoke to Ginny, she's still not budging. I'm sorry, I tried-"

"Owens." Maria interrupted, touching his arm lightly to get him to stand at ease. "I think you're ready for your assignment."

Robert blinked at her, shifting on his feet slightly. "Are…ma'am, are you sure?"

Maria grinned at him and turned with him, leading him along the corridor, past the research department and through a set of double doors. "I'm certain, Robert. You've surpassed yourself these last few days, and I already know you're more than capable as a field agent. You're as ready as you'll ever be."

Robert swallowed as he continued walking with her, along another corridor to the left of the medical core that he'd never been down before. "But…my leg-"

"Is something you'll never have to worry about again." She insisted, pushing him through one last set of doors. Robert's mouth dropped open as he stepped into the vast room behind them. It looked like some sort of specialised operating theatre. There was a gurney, a few bits of medical equipment that he recognized, like a heart rate monitor and defibrillator, but there were also a lot of things he was certain had never and probably would never be seen by the outside world. A man was standing in a white coat by one of these machines close to the gurney, fiddling with some sort of IV drip, only noticing them as they stepped closer.

"Robert Owens, this is Reed Richards." Maria said as she introduced the pair. Robert held his hand out to shake Reed's, keeping his stride to get close enough to actually complete the task, but Reed/s hand stretched out over the gurney, as if made of elastic, and took hold of Robert's. Robert blinked and withdrew his hand immediately, staring at Reed, who swallowed and went back to his task. "Reed has been helping perfect your assignment." Maria continued, walking around to Reed's side of the gurney and picking up the file lying upon it. "Are we ready to go?"

Reed flinched a little as Maria addressed him, clearing his throat and motioning to two other men to come over. "As ready as we'll ever be."

"Excellent." Maria said, closing the file and smiling at Robert, who was nervously shuffling on the spot. "Now, Robert." She spoke to him, walking back around to face him. "You've read the briefing on your assignment I take it?" at his nod, she continued. "If you have any doubts, any at all, now is the time to raise them."

Robert swallowed and shook his head. If anything, Maria smiled wider and led him over to the gurney.

"Ok," Reed said, sighing deeply. "Please remove your shirt and any jewellery and lie down on the gurney." As Robert did so, Reed took the Director to one side. "With all due respect, ma'am, I still think this is a big mistake. We still don't know if this will even work, if the subject will survive the transformation." He shook his head. "I think we should stop this before it even starts, at the very least do some more tests-"

"Reed." Maria interrupted him and he immediately stopped talking. "Reed, we have Sue and Johnny locked away downstairs, and I know it was you who told them about the raid."

Reed's face paled rapidly and he opened his mouth to protest, but Maria raised her hand.

"I don't want to hear it." She said. "Now you know we could quite easily take this as far as possible, which would mean a lot of heartache for everyone, including your wife and her brother. However, I'm a forgiving person, and I am willing to put all of this behind us and let you go home. All three of you. And all you have to do is complete this course of experiments."

Reed swallowed harshly and nodded, looking away from her. Maria smiled that creepy smile and patted his back, turning and walking out of the room to the adjacent one where a huge monitor was set up to give her a bird's eye view of the proceedings.

In the other room, Reed approached the gurney as Robert was strapped down. He arms and legs were secured into large metal brackets and his head strapped down into another. He gulped and looked up at Reed as he adjusted the IV drip again before placing it into a vein in Robert's arm.

"So, what's the success rate with this thing?" Robert asked nervously.

Reed sighed and pulled out a hypodermic gun, snapping a vial of purplish serum into it and placing it against Robert's arm, looking him in the eye.

"I'll let you know." He said, pressing it into his skin and pulling the trigger. Robert gasped and let out a light groan as Reed quickly dismantled the gun and hastily stepped back, staring.

Minutes passed and nothing happened. Reed's assistants monitored him, adjusting things here and there. Robert sighed and looked around as best he could with his head strapped down.

"Should I be feeling any different?" he asked, coughing a little as his chest tightened. "Hey, I feel a little weird. Reed?" Robert took a deep breath as a sharp pain ripped through his chest. "Fuck, Reed I don't like-"

Several things happened at once. More pain slammed into him, his eyes rolled back into his head and he arched upwards. Robert then started convulsing, the machines around him beginning to beep wildly and Reed's assistants tried to keep up with them. Robert's muscles began spasming hard as he thrashed on the table, tugging at the metal fixings keeping him secured to the gurney, and he let out a roar of agony.

"Keep him hydrated!" Reed called to one of the other scientists as Robert's entire body began morphing. His arms and legs bulked and grew to the size of tree trunks, along with his neck, his head widening to fit and his chest swelling with muscles. The straps holding him down shattered as though made of glass and his arm swung wildly, catching one of the scientists and flinging him across the room. The other man instantly flew forwards and tried to secure Robert's arm again, only to join his co-worker on the ground on the other side of the room. Reed could only watch with nervous fascination as Robert's once small, lean build, changed to that of a great hulking super-being. Ripping his other limbs free of their binds, he roared again and jumped up from the gurney, the ground vibrating with the force of an earthquake as his feet hit it again.

From across the hall, Maria Hill smiled.

**TBC**


	10. Chapter 10

Well what a week! We had an armed robbery at work on Wednesday, some guy with a hammer dragged me off the till and tried to smash open the note safe. He didn't get away with anything though, and he left his bicycle, and I punched him, so how crap was he?

**Disclaimer: I own less than nothing. Thanks to Marvel Universe Wiki and Marvel Comic Database for background and character info.**

* * *

Matt Murdock sat at the end of his bed in the cold, cramped cell the SHIELD agents had thrown him in the previous week. He shuffled towards the foot of the bed and twisted around so his hands, which were cuffed behind his back, could touch the metal frame of the bed. Task accomplished, he rapped his knuckles once on the metal. Instantly, sound waves rushed outwards from the bed, hitting every available surface in front of it and giving Matt a full view of his cell; no other furniture, one window on his left near the ceiling, one door straight ahead with two armed guards patrolling up and down the corridor. In other words, no way out. He sighed and slumped back against the wall, closing his eyes and listening intently for anything significant. He didn't have to wait long, within minutes the sound of high heels rushing down the corridor alerted him and he sat up straight again. He heard muffled voices and then the thump, followed by another and the sound of metal hitting metal. Matt shuffled forwards again and hit the bed frame in time to 'see' a female on the other side of the door knock out the second guard, the first already in a crumpled heap on the floor. He tapped the frame again and saw her bend and retrieve the door keys, unlocking it and throwing it open.

"Matt!" Natasha ran towards him, smiling. "Jesus, are you ok?"

Matt grinned and twisted his torso as she unlocked the cuffs binding his hands. "I'm fine, Nat. What are you doing?"

"Saving your ass, as usual." Natasha said, helping him up and handing him his cane. "When I couldn't get a hold of you or Tony, I got worried, and then the Director came down to the offices and told us they'd captured you." She tugged on his arm and they exited the cell. Natasha bent and picked up another bunch of keys from one of the guards on the way out before dragging both limp bodies inside and re-locking the door.

"Where are the others?" Matt asked, tapping his cane now and then as he followed Natasha along the corridor.

"I'm not sure." Natasha mumbled. "I know Tony's downstairs in a more secure unit, but most of your guys should be on this floor somewhere." She shook her head. "There's no way to know which cell has an actual criminal in it, the only information I had was yours."

Matt stepped around her and held his hand out to stop her. "Stay still for a second." He said, and tapped his cane hard against the wall. Sound waves moved outwards, over every surface and through every wall, giving him a blueprint of each room and, more importantly, an outline of who was in it.

"There." he said after a few seconds, pointing to the two end cells. "Those two there, Logan and Peter."

They hurried forwards, Natasha untangling the correct keys as they approached the doors and opening them. Peter was just as shocked to see Natasha as Matt had been, but Logan jumped into action straight away.

"Where the hell is Punisher?" he asked, unsheathing his claws immediately. "That God damn bullet gave me a headache for three days."

"Calm down Logan." Peter said. "First thing's first, we need to find Tony. Do you know where he is?" he asked Natasha.

Natasha shrugged. "I've got a rough idea. I know the higher security cells are downstairs towards the research and development quarter, he's probably going to be down there."

Peter nodded. "Then that's where we're heading. Keep alert for any sign of movement, this needs to be done quickly as possible."

They stealthily made their way down three levels, narrowly avoiding a string of guards on patrol one floor down and as they approached the corridor where Tony's cell was, Peter froze and quickly pulled them back from the corner they'd been about to walk around.

"Four guards." He whispered, closing his eyes in concentration. "All heavily armed, two standing outside the cell door, one at each end of the corridor."

Natasha nodded. "I'll approach from the front; get the guard this side talking. Pete, wait for my signal and web them-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Logan leapt from behind the corner and charged and the guards. The closest, to his credit, managed to get a couple of shots off, which Logan deflected easily with his claws, before being flung across the room, sliding along the floor in front of the two guards outside Tony's door. They looked up in time to see Logan advancing towards them, leaping through the air and slashing his claws down, killing both guards in one go. The guard at the other end of the corridor jumped and fumbled for his radio, but Peter fired a ball of web at his face, stopping mid sentence. Firing more webbing to tie him up, the group advanced towards Tony's door.

"Do you do that a lot?" Natasha asked as she flipped through the keys she'd taken from the previous guards. "Barrel into action without thinking?"

Logan rolled his eyes and pushed Natasha out of the way, sinking his claws through the door as if it were made of butter and tearing a huge hole in it before ripping it out of the wall.

"I don't know about you darlin', but I don't think we have time to plan everything out." He growled, stepping into Tony's cell and squinting through the dark.

Natasha followed with Matt and Pete, spotting Tony instantly. He was kneeling on the floor, slumped forwards with his arms spread out, both hands completely encased in metal tubes that were attached to the ceiling. There was a huge metal bar connecting both tubes above his head that looked as though it had a workshop light inside, but it was humming. As Peter and Matt walked into the cell, both men winced and lost their footing. Peter slumped against the wall, scrunching his eyes closed as if he had a headache, and Logan caught Matt before he fell, blinking rapidly and shaking his head.

"What the hell's wrong with them?" Logan asked, helping Matt over to the wall for him to lean against. Natasha looked around the room and walked up to Tony, who appeared to be out cold, noticing the device above him.

"Repulsor tech." she said, pointing to the device. "It's messing with them. It must be hooked into the same wavelength that Tony uses to activate his suit. Peter's spider-sense and Matt's radar sense must be similar, we need to destroy it."

Logan immediately rushed forwards, slashing at the repulsor beam and the metal tubes holding Tony up, completely ripping them apart and tossing away the pieces. Natasha caught Tony as he slumped forward and dragged him over to the wall, propping him up and kneeling beside him to check him over. Peter and Matt perked up immediately, groggily shaking their heads to clear them. Natasha tapped Tony's cheek as he slowly came to, blinking slowly.

"Tony, you have to wake up." She said softly. "We have to go."

"Pepper…" Tony mumbled, head lolling to the side.

Natasha beckoned Logan over to help him up. "We're going to go find her, but you need to get up."

Struggling to his feet, Tony leant heavily against the wall as Logan came over, hooking Tony's arm around his shoulders and helping him out of the room. They stepped over the guards lying on the floor and headed back along the corridor.

"This way." Logan said, sniffing the air and tracking Pepper's scent. They made their way further into the bowels of the ship and finally came to Pepper's cell. There was just the one guard standing outside, and he barely had time to ask Natasha what she was doing before she slammed him into the ground.

Pepper's head snapped up as Natasha opened her door, dragging the guard in with her, followed by Peter, Matt, and Logan dragging a still drowsy Tony.

"Tony!" Pepper stood and rushed over to him as Logan dropped him in the chair by the door. "Oh my God, is he ok?"

"He should be fine." Natasha said. "Hopefully sooner rather than later."

"Pepper…" Tony mumbled again, groaning softly and swiping a hand over his face.

"I'm here." Pepper said, stroking his cheek softly. "Tony, I'm ok, I'm right here."

Tony flinched and opened his eyes a little wider, staring at her for a second before pulling her tightly to him in a hug. Pepper instantly hugged him back, burying her face in his neck and taking a shaky breath. "Pepper, I was so fucking worried. I'm sorry."

"Don't." Pepper said tearfully. "It's my fault, everything happened because of me." She pulled back a little and ran her hand through his hair, sniffing. "I love you."

Tony grinned and dipped his head, pressing his lips softly to hers and hugging her closer. Logan rolled his eyes and turned away, as did Peter but with a smile on his face. Matt shuffled over to Natasha.

"Do you have any idea where they're holding Blake?" he asked her. Natasha shook her head.

"I would have thought the rest of your guys would have been down here, but if you can't sense them…the only other place they could be is in a section near the research and development quarter." She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "There's a huge medical facility down there but no other cells as far as I know."

Tony, who had recovered enough to stand without help, did so and walked over. "We need to do this as quick as possible." He said. "Nat, you and Peter go down to the R&D department, find Cable and Luke. Logan, Matt and I will meet him down there after we've got Blake. I want you to get Pepper out-"

"Hell no." Pepper snapped. "I'm not going anywhere."

Tony sighed and turned to her. "Pep, you need to get out of here, it's not safe."

Pepper shook her head. "I'm not leaving you. Besides, do you think it'll be any safer out there on my own?"

Tony gave Natasha a helpless look. Natasha sighed. "She's right, Tony. She'll be safer with us."

He remained silent for a few seconds before shaking his head and tutting. "Fine, let's just get this done."

They made their way down to the research and development quarter, Natasha giving Peter a rough mental blueprint of where she guessed Cable and Luke would be. When they got to the heavy door separating it from the rest of the base, Peter and Natasha split from the group, scrambling up through the ventilation system and silently crawling away. The rest of the group managed to get through the first corridor without trouble, but Logan stopped them short of another door, sniffing intently.

"There's guards behind that door, and…" he sniffed again and wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Ugh, I don't know what the hell that is but I sure as hell don't wanna smell it again."

Matt tapped his cane lightly against the door and nodded. "Four guards again, guarding one door. Blake?" Matt asked.

Tony shook his head. "Not enough guards, probably Sue and Johnny."

Logan, who had once again had enough of talking, pushed the door open and flew towards the guards. Matt followed quickly, both men making light work of the grunts. Tony and Pepper hurried forward, stealing a set of keys and unlocking the door. Before he could blink, a streak of fire shot towards Tony. He raised his arm, covering his face, managing to activate the Extremis seconds before the flame hit his arm, ricocheting it away into the wall. Tony pulled back his arm and looked around, spotting Johnny in the corner, flame emanating from his hand.

"Tony?" he said, extinguishing the flame with a click of his fingers. "Damn, sorry pal."

"No worries, why wouldn't you try and set me alight?" he smiled back at the young man, and Sue who was sitting on a bed behind Johnny.

"What's going on?" Sue asked. "How did you find us?"

"We're fighting." Tony said as everyone piled into the cell, Logan closing the door behind them. "First thing's first, any idea where Thor is?"

Both Sue and Johnny shook their head and Tony cursed. "We don't even know where Reed works." Sue said. "When he contacted us about the raid, that was the first time we'd heard from him since we left, and we didn't really hear from him that often while we worked here."

"Seriously, can no one else smell that?" Logan asked, covering his nose and wincing.

Johnny gave him an odd look and raised his eyebrows. "Anyway, point is, we know less than nothing. We're flying blind here."

Tony sighed and shook his head. "We don't have time to plan this. I think surprise is the best weapon we have here. That, and me of course." He activated the Extremis and suited up, flexing his hands and cracking his neck as the armour engulfed him. "Much better. Ok, we have to move now. Peter and Natasha have gone to find Cable and Luke, we're meeting them in the R&D department." He looked at Sue. "You can produce a force field right?" she nodded. "Ok, I want you to project the strongest one you can over Pepper, ok? Just keep her safe for me."

Sue nodded and closed her eyes, concentrating hard. A rush of air washed over Pepper, followed by a barely visible blue wave, covering her completely. Satisfied, Tony led the group out of the cell and back down the corridor, stopping instantly when the door at the end began to open.

Tony held his hand up to stop the rest of the group and aimed one of his gauntlets at the door, bracing himself for whatever was on the other side of it. He concentrated and the repulsor whirred into life, preparing to fire as a man stepped through the door, freezing when he saw the group ahead of him.

"Reed?" Sue gasped and ran towards him, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Sue, what…" Reed hugged her back briefly before pulling away. "You need to get out while you still can, it's not safe."

"What?" Tony asked. "What's not safe? What's going on, Richards?"

Reed shook his head, glancing back at the door. Logan growled and stepped forward, pushing Sue out of the way and grabbing Reed by his collar, throwing him up against the wall and holding him there.

"Listen, Bub." He hissed, his face inches from Reed's. "I'm getting' sick and tired of all these damn speed bumps, and now you're one of 'um. Enough bullshit, what the hell is goin' on down here?"

A low roar sounded from behind the door. Everyone's heads snapped towards it. Logan let Reed go and backed away, staring at the door. Reed shook his head in horror as the roar got louder and the ground shook a little. He turned to Sue and ushered her back.

"Sue, get out. Please." He begged, eyes wide. "You all need to get out, now."

The roar got even louder and the metal door vibrated as the ground shook, before it flew open and the huge, nine foot tall, mutated form of a freshly transformed Robert stepped through it, breathing heavily, his teeth bared, fists clenched, and tiny eyes darting around the room. He roared again, his muscular chest pulsing as every single vein practically popped through his pale yellowish skin.

Logan swallowed and slowly extended his claws.

"Well, at least I know what that stink was."

**TBC**


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry this took so long, haven't been able to get at my desktop for a while. One more chapter to go, plus an epilogue!

**Disclaimer: **Nothing be mine. Thanks to Marvel Universe Wiki, Marvel Comics Database and Marvel Ultimate Character Guide for the background info.

* * *

Tony wasted no time as the creature roared again, bracing his stance and concentrating hard on the Uni-beam in his chest. It whirred into life and a surge of energy blasted forward, hitting the creature square in the chest and knocking him off his feet, flying back through the doors it had just burst through. Logan immediately followed, Cable and Cage on his tail, storming into battle with a furious yell. Tony turned to the rest of the group.

"You three." He pointed to Reed, Johnny and Matt. "Help Logan try to beat that thing. Sue, do what you can but your main priority is keeping Pepper safe, got it?"

The men nodded and followed after the sounds of fighting. Pepper looked up at him.

"What are you gonna do?" she asked.

"I need to find Blake." He said. "If they try to involve him in whatever they're doing, if it's what I think they're doing, we're all done for."

"Tony!" a voice hollered from behind them. The trio turned to find Peter sprinting towards them, Punisher hot on his tail. Tony immediately raised his gauntlet, aiming it at Punisher's advancing form, but Peter shot a ball of webbing out and knocked his hand away, slowing to a stop and panting in front of him. "It's ok." he said. "He's with us."

Tony looked at Punisher, scrutinising him as he approached. "Where's Natasha?"

Peter shook his head. "We got separated when I found Punisher, she went on ahead to find Don."

"I'm sorry." Punisher said when he reached the two of them, shaking his head. "I had no idea what was going on. I thought I was just rounding up criminals-"

"Save it." Tony said. "Explanations after this is done, alright?"

Peter nodded and his head snapped towards the sound of a body being flung against the wall. "I guess I better get started then, huh?" he grinned and ran through the doors.

Punisher hesitated and pointed back over his shoulder. "Your God of Thunder is down there. Keep heading east." And then he was gone, guns drawn, firing at the Robert's mutated form.

"Remember what I told you." Tony said to Sue, and then before she could reply he was off, flying back along the corridor at breakneck speed, blasting doors in his path, some with guards behind them. He had to stop when he came to a door that his repulsor wouldn't break through and he scanned the space behind it. A mass of red heat signatures appeared on his HUD. He was definitely in the right place. "This is gonna get messy." He muttered as he charged his Uni-beam again.

He released the energy after a few seconds, blasting the heavy doors wide apart and revealing a huge room, Blake in the centre, hooked up to a similar contraption Tony had been with around forty guards surrounding him, who all span to face him as the doors flew open. Not giving them a chance to sound an alarm, he set about the untidy job of neutralising them. A few managed to get good shots at him that knocked him back a little, but in the end they didn't stand a chance, each falling to the ground like flies around him.

Tony shook his head, this was the part of his job that he hated, but it had to be done. These men, following orders or not, were in his way, stopping him from helping the world, whether it wanted to be helped or not, and he didn't have a choice. After the last guard fell, he hurried forward onto the platform that Blake was strapped to, noticing Mjölnir in its cane form lying a few feet away in an enforced Plexiglas container.

"Don." Tony withdrew the portion of his armour around his face as he approached Don's limp form and began unhooking the repulsor tech surrounding his hands. "Don, can you hear me buddy?"

Don groaned and scrunched his eyebrows together as he opened his eyes. "Ugh, my head is killing me."

"Yeah, it'll do that to you." Tony agreed, ripping the cuffs from Don's hands and crushing them. "Can you stand?"

"Gimme a minute Shellhead." Don said wearily. "Make yourself useful and get Mjölnir out of that box. Carefully. She's just as weak as I am in this form."

Tony nodded and crouched next to the transparent container, placing his hand over the top of it and concentrating the repulsor beam to the surface of his gauntlet, creating an immensely hot furnace, melting the Plexiglas as though it were butter. Once a big enough gap was created, he reached inside and withdrew the cane, handing it to Don who pulled himself to his feet with it.

"Why aren't you transforming?" Tony asked.

Don snorted derisively and shuffled towards the door, Tony helping. "We've been disconnected for too long. She's not nearly powerful enough to transform on her own, I need to re-charge."

As they neared the doors, a piercing claxon sounded throughout the entire facility, and shouts came from behind them through another set of doors.

"Look," Tony said "There's no way you can be useful until your back to full power. Go and find more help. Natasha is running around somewhere trying to find you so just stay out of trouble til she finds you, alright? Don't get caught."

"Yes Mom." Don spat. "Just go and help the rest. I'll be fine."

Tony nodded, morphed the armour back over his face again, and kicked off, zooming back towards the battle.

When he reached the room he'd left the fighting in, he happily saw that the group had managed to push Robert back into the main medical facility he must have stormed out of, throwing everything they had at him. Matt, Luke and Peter were handling the close up contact, using every ounce of strength to bring him down, but the giant just kept batting them away, only getting more annoyed. Punisher was using his multitude of weaponry, but the bullets simply bounced away from the gargantuan mutant. Reed was trying his best to wrap himself around the creature's legs but just when it looked as though he had a decent hold on him, some sort of electric pulse flowed through its body and into Reed, snapping his elastic form back to normal and flinging him away into a corner. Sue, who was off to one side with Pepper under a protective force-field yelled after him in distress.

"Guys, move!" Johnny flew forwards, a blur of orange flame, speeding towards Robert. The rest of the team dispersed just in time for Johnny to throw everything he had at the beast, creating a tornado of flame around it. Robert roared in pain and tried to bat Johnny away, but Johnny dodged his huge fists. As Robert writhed in agony, Cable threw a mental charge at him, infiltrating his brain and tapping into his nervous system, gripping at every single pain receptor he could. Robert yelled again and blindly threw punches through the air.

Tony looked around for Logan and spotted him lying about twenty feet away from where he stood, his neck twisted at an odd angle, indicating it was broken. Tony swore and hurried over to him, kneeling at his head and gently twisting it back into place and holding it there. While he waited for Logan to come round, he looked back over his shoulder, just in time to see Cable flying through the air towards him. Tony ducked as the huge form flew over his head and slammed into the wall, unconscious, his techno-organic eye smashed.

"Johnny! No!"

The heat that had built up with Johnny's attack disappeared instantly, and Tony didn't have to look to know that the monster had broken free of the flame trap as his erupting roar made the ground shake. He felt Logan take a deep breath in and looked down to see the man looking back up at him.

"As touching as this is, ya mind not cradling my head like some kind of-"

Logan's words went unfinished as a solid body collided with Tony's, ripping him from Logan and hurling him across the floor. Tony managed to regain his baring enough to curl his legs and flip whoever it was over his head, flipping back onto his feet and looking around and dodging a familiar looking shield just in time as it sliced through the air where his head had been a split second before.

"You are _mine_, Stark!" Steve said as he quickly got to his feet, holding his hand out for the shield which rebounded off of one of the medical machines and whizzed straight back to him.

"Tony!" Logan yelled, claws drawn and advancing. Tony held his hand out to stop him.

"Go help the others, I have this." He called back, kick starting his repulsors and hovering a few inches off the ground.

Logan nodded and turned, sprinting back to the fight as Steve advanced on Tony, leaping towards him with the last few feet and tackling him again. Tony pulled the same trick he had before and flipped Steve away from him, sending a repulsor blast in reply. Steve quickly righted himself and blocked the blast with his shield.

Logan, meanwhile, had joined the fight with a renewed vigour. The combined attack from Cable and Johnny had really angered Robert and he lashed out at Peter who was swinging from webbing around his head, shooting off webs to try and blind him. From the ground, Matt was trying to distract Robert, darting around and striking as hard as he could while Luke climbed up the creature's body, wrapping his arms around its neck and securing it in a firm choke hold. Robert roared in anger and grabbed at Luke's arms with his own huge fists. Even with his immense strength, Luke was still struggling to maintain his grip.

"I'm not gonna last much longer, guys." He called out to the group.

Logan quickly assessed the situation and formulated a plan. "We need to get him grounded." He shouted to them. "Parker, web up a little leg trap. Matt, you've got steel cable in that cane of yours aintcha?"

Matt nodded, sensing his plan and, along with Peter's webbing, he ran around Robert's legs, winding the steel cable around them and tugging it tight. Robert roared and stumbled a little, reaching over his head, clawing at Luke whose grip was faltering and trying desperately to get him off. Logan leapt forward, sinking his claws into Robert's chest with an angry yell and tipped him backwards, falling to the ground with a thunderous boom. Luke managed to get out of the way before his was squashed and ran to the side, grabbing hold of one of Robert's enormous arms, dragging it to the floor where Peter secured it before doing the same to the other, held down by Matt.

Tony was still fighting Steve, who seemed intent on killing him. While Steve pressed forward, attacking him with lethal accuracy, Tony tried his best to defend himself without harming Steve.

"You don't need to do this, Steve!" he yelled as he dodged the shield yet again, waiting for its return trip. "If you'd just _listen_ to me! Don't you see what she's doing to us? Look at that thing! It was a human once, and she turned it into-"

"No!" Steve yelled, finally managing to connect a punch and making Tony stumble sideways. "I will not be fed lies by the man that killed my oldest friend!" he aimed another punch which Tony deflected.

Tony shook his head. "I didn't kill him, Steve. She lied-"

"You're the liar!" Steve roared, leaping through the air towards him and bringing his shield down smartly into the side of Tony's head.

"Logan!" Peter shouted as he strung webbing around Robert's arms and legs, binding him to the floor. "We've got this, go and help Tony."

Logan was about to answer when Robert gave another roar and his skin began to burn, the heat intensifying with every second.

"What the hell?" Logan muttered, staring down at the yellow skin between his fingers. Suddenly, there was a low hum of static, an electric charge, and Logan's eyes went wide. "Everybody, move, now!" but he barely had time to finish the sentence before tendrils of electricity flowed through him, stunning him completely. Tony watched from afar in horror as Logan, Peter, Matt and Luke were all electrocuted, their bodies standing rigid before falling limp around the monster.

"Looks like you're all alone, Stark." Steve yelled, rushing forward for another attack. Tony dodged it and sent yet another repulsor blast after him, backing away. He looked around to Sue, who was advancing to help him, but he held his hand up.

"Stay with Pepper!" he yelled, turning back to see the huge, hulking form of Robert looming over him, breathing hard and baring his teeth. Tony backed up again and raised his gauntlets to fire, but suddenly found himself unable to move. Robert let out a deep chuckle and bent down, picking Tony up in one of his large hands and bringing him up to his face.

"Tony Stark." He said slowly. Tony struggled weakly in his grasp, staring up at him as he smiled back. Robert's smile fell, and he squeezed his hand tighter. Tony gasped and let out a yell as he felt his armour, his skin, splintering, and then he screamed. He felt his energy being torn away from him. His armour receded back into his body and his ribs cracked. He felt pressure building up around his chest piece and knew it was mere moments before Robert popped it from him. He heard Pepper screaming his name and he managed to turn his head, his eyes widening as he saw two Cape-Killers dragging her to her feet, an unconscious Sue carried by another.

"Let him go." Maria Hill's voice cut through his pain-fuelled haze like a knife and he felt a slight release on the pressure building in his chest, shortly followed by a dull thud as Robert simply dropped him from the thirty foot height he'd been held at.

Gasping for breath, pain like he'd never felt before absolutely everywhere, he tried in vain to get up off the floor. Two Cape-Killer's grabbed him roughly under the arms, hoisting him onto his knees. He lifted his weary head and saw more Cape-Killers rounding up the rest of his team, and a few of the Avengers standing around behind Maria, looking down on him like he was nothing.

"Well, well, well." Maria sighed, walking around his defeated form as he coughed and hung his head again. "You just couldn't do as you were told, could you?" she asked him. "All you had to do was stay dead, and all of this could have been avoided. And I'm equally disappointed in you, Reed." She addressed the scientist, who was secured in a form of straight jacket to keep his powers at bay. "Looks like your entire family is going to suffer after all." She shook her head and turned back to Tony. "But first things first."

Maria pulled out a gun and pointed it against Tony's forehead. Pepper screamed and struggled in her captor's grasp, tears streaming down her cheeks as she tried desperately to get to him.

"Tony Stark." Maria said, loudly and clearly grabbing the attention of everyone in the room. "Who have become a threat to national security, the U.S. government, and the safety of the general public, and under protocol seventeen of SHIELD, I am authorized to execute you." She moved her thumb and pulled back the hammer of the gun, pressing it harder against his head as he looked up at her. "Do you have any last words?"

From behind her, a door creaked open. Every available Cape-Killer drew his gun and pointed it at the doors as Blake walked through it, supported by Natasha and another man. Maria faltered slightly and a quiet intake of breath ran through the crowd and Steve stepped forward, slack jawed.

"I've got a few last words." Banner growled.

**TBC**


	12. Chapter 12

So here we go. The last proper chapter, just the epilogue to go.

**Disclaimer: **Still not mine. Thanks to Marvel Comics Database, Marvel Universe Wiki and The Ultimate Marvel Character Guide for the background information.

* * *

Maria stood frozen on the spot as Banner stepped forwards, eyes wide and Tony's execution forgotten. She snapped out of it long enough to glance around at her swarm of Cape Killers.

"What are you waiting for?" She yelled. "Fire!"

"No!" Tony yelled as the grunts rained a torrent of bullets down on Bruce, Blake and Natasha. Banner threw his arms up to shield his face, as if that would have deflected the bullets, but he didn't need to. They never hit their targets, instead hitting a faint blue wall surrounding the trio and bouncing off, a few flying back to their owners. Maria gaped and span to face the grunt holding Sue, who was still out cold. Perplexed, she ordered them to fire again, but it yielded the same result.

"I think it's safe to say that you're going to have to hear what I have to say." Banner said, staring Maria down. "Even you, Steve."

Steve, who was still slack jawed at the sight of Bruce, shook his head.

"You're dead." He whispered hoarsely. "You're dead. I saw the file, Stark killed you."

"And yet here I am." Bruce growled. "And it's all thanks to Director Hill." He stood up a little straighter and addressed the entire crowd, including the few Avengers that had shown up during the fighting. "Tony Stark did not kill me, nor did he kill Nick Fury. For the past seven years, I have been held captive in the bowels of this very air ship and used as a living, breathing, scientific experiment. Maria Hill arranged to have Fury killed and framed Tony."

Maria laughed. "And why exactly would I do any of that, Bruce?"

Bruce merely pointed at Robert's mutated form. "For that. You were the one that thought up Prop Forty-Two. It isn't a registration act; it's a mutant roundup in order to create a new race of super soldiers like him. Only things didn't go your way at first, did they Maria? Because what it meant was that you'd be experimenting on people with special abilities, like me, like the Avengers, and when Nick found that out, he scrapped it, and you saw all your planning, all your hard work, flushed down the toilet. And you couldn't have that, could you?

"The night that Tony disappeared was the night she acted. She made sure Fury was alone, and she killed him. Probably using one of her loyal subjects," he motioned to the Cape Killers. "When Tony and I heard the commotion, we rushed over, but it was too late. One of her guard shot me, but the bullet only injured me. I hit the deck and Tony did the only thing he could do, he ran. But Maria couldn't let him breathe a word of what he'd seen, so she framed him for Nick's murder, and mine. And she's been using me as a human guinea pig ever since."

He turned to face the few Avengers that were crowded around. "Ever wondered what happened to the people you rounded up? Where they went to? Why they were never seen again? Well, they're all him!" he pointed at Robert again. "She stripped every last ounce of mutation, special ability, from those people and funnelled it into that monster, including me. Some of them weren't strong enough to survive it, and I wish I hadn't been if this is the result."

Steve turned to face Maria, eyes narrowed. "Is this true?"

"Absolutely not." Maria answered quickly. "Steve, you've seen the specs for the serum, you know it's just a refined version of the shot you were given during the war."

"That's a lie!" Reed shouted. Everyone span around, staring at Reed who looked completely surprised at his own outburst. Swallowing a wave of fear as his gaze connected with Maria's, he kept talking. "I've been working on this project since the beginning. I was naïve at first, I just went along with it, but as I became more involved with what was going on, I started to notice things. The people that we were rounding up weren't coming back from the research facility after being registered, and then I started to find out why. I tried to get out, but my family was under threat, I only did this for them, but it's too late now. It's over, Maria." He said.

Maria scoffed. "It's over? What, do you think you're in some kind of movie?" she looked at Banner. "There's no way you can prove any of this. Every single scrap of research on this serum is water-tight."

"Except that it isn't." Reed spoke up again. "When I started noticing things, odd things, I began keeping a log of every single person going into the medical and research facilities. Names, background information, abilities. Everything. Not to mention ghost files of what you've actually been doing." He let a small smile play on his lips. "You're done, Maria. When I release this information, you're done for. And I'm the only person who can get at it."

"Hey!" a Cape Killer called from where Cable lay slumped against the wall. "This one's still conscious!"

Quick as a flash, Maria turned and pointed her gun at Cable, pulling the trigger. The bullet flew from her gun and straight through Cable's techno-organic eye, killing him instantly. Immediately, the force field protecting Bruce, Blake and Natasha, vanished. Maria smiled cruelly and turned her gun onto Reed, who backed away, eyes wide.

"You have just caused problem after problem for me, haven't you?" she asked him, pulling the hammer back on her gun. "And seeing as you're the only person who has access to any…incriminating evidence, killing you will solve all my problems won't it?"

As Maria pulled the trigger, several things happened at once, as if in slow motion. Bruce lunged forwards, eyes blazing as he began to transform into the Hulk, and as he did so, Robert ran at him. As they charged at each other and collided, the bullet left the barrel of Maria's gun and sped towards Reed, but it never made it. Tony had leapt to his feet and thrown himself in front of Reed, blocking the bullet and twisting grotesquely as his body took on the full force of it. He fell to the ground with an almighty thud and was still. Pepper screamed and fought tooth and nail to get out of her captor's grasp. She didn't have to make much of an effort as the Cape Killers were running scared of the fight between the Hulk and Robert. As the Hulk finally managed to pin Robert down and knock him out, Pepper flew to Tony's side, rolling him onto his back and cradling his head in her lap. Natasha and a few Avengers ran over and tackled Maria before she could fire her gun again as a crowd gathered around Tony. He was still conscious, but blood was pouring out of his mouth and his breaths were coming in short bursts.

"Get out of the way!" Blake's voice came from behind them and he parted the crowd, sinking to his knees and looking Tony over as Pepper brushed some of his sweat dampened hair from his face. "The bullet has perforated his lung." Blake said, pulling his shirt off and pressing it down hard over the wound on the left side of Tony's chest. Tony groaned loudly and his eyes widened. "Reed! Help me apply pressure."

"Tony." Pepper whispered, stroking his cheek and rocking him back and forth, tears streaming down her face as Reed came over and helped Blake try to step the blood flow. "Listen to me, ok? Don't you dare die. You promised me you were going to stay with me. You promised."

"This isn't working." Reed muttered. "He's going to bleed out before we can get him to the medical core."

Tony coughed and drew in a gasping, ragged breath, his body beginning to tremble as it went into shock. He stared up at Pepper and somehow managed to flash her a small crooked grin, his eyes slipping shut.

"P-pepper…"

Pepper felt him exhale sharply, and then his entire body went limp.

"No." she mumbled, tilting his head up to get a better look at him. "No, Tony…no!"

Blake grabbed her by the shoulders and tried to pry her away from Tony's body. "Pepper, I need to you let him go."

Pepper shook her head, sobbing heavily, wrapping her arms around Tony's neck and burying her face in his hair. Blake tugged at her again.

"I need to try something that might bring him back, but I need to do it now, Pepper." He said urgently. "You need to let him go for me."

Reluctantly, and with a little help from Reed, she let Tony's limp body slip from her arms and she stood, shaking and silent as Blake knelt beside him, laying his cane down the length of Tony's torso. He pressed both hands onto the cane, just below where the arc was, and closed his eyes. Immediately, Mjölnir began to glow, pulsing with a golden light. As the seconds ticked by, the glow spread from the cane through to Tony, his entire body glowing.

"I need more energy." Blake muttered through gritted teeth. "Bruce, bring that beast over."

Bruce, still in Hulk form, easily dragged Robert's unconscious body over. Blake grabbed one of Robert's huge hands and pressed it against the cane, his own hand covering it. The glow brightened dramatically and Blake's forehead began to sweat with the effort he was making. Minutes passed, and suddenly Blake slumped forward taking in huge gulps of air as if he'd just run a marathon. He gazed at Tony's form, and pressed his ear to his chest, checking for a heartbeat before grabbing his wrist and feeling for a pulse. When neither presented themselves, he sighed and shook his head, looking morosely up at Pepper, who covered her mouth with her hand and choked out another sob, sinking to her knees at Tony's side again. She brought his head back to her lap and smoother his hair back neatly, running her fingers over his jaw and pressing a tender kiss to his cold, bloodied lips. Her hand gripped at his shirt near the arc, which was still glowing, though it had no heart to protect any more.

"I'm sorry, Pepper." Blake said. "I'm truly sorry. I wasn't strong enough to-"

A small intake of breath halted his sentence and Pepper froze, half bent over Tony's body. She pulled back and stared at him.

"Tony?" she whispered, shuffling around to his side so she was facing him. "Tony, come on, please come back…"

He did it again. A sharp inhale, followed by an exhale, and his eyelids twitched, before springing open and he gulped for breath. Pepper let out a sob and flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and crying happily into his shoulder. Blake rocked back on his heels and grinned widely as everyone else looked on, astonished.

"What the hell?" Steve mumbled, staring at Blake.

"Come on, Steve." Said Blake, heaving himself to his feet using Mjölnir. "You've already seen one man come back from the dead today, what's one more miracle?"

Tony, who had calmed down enough to breathe normally again, wound his arms around Pepper's waist and buried his nose in her hair, breathing her in as if his life depended on it.

"I thought I'd lost you." She managed between sobs, gripping his short collar like a vice.

Tony smiled a little and pressed a kiss to her neck. "I came back from the dead twice for you, I wasn't about to let it beat me this time." He pulled her head back a little to kiss her on the mouth tenderly.

"You're stuck with me, I'm afraid."

**The End.**


	13. Epilogue

Ok, so here's the epilogue. The real end of this fic, and indeed the series. I'm going to move on from this now. I've enjoyed writing this so much, and I'm glad so many of you did too and I want to thank everyone that took the time to review – you all made this happen.

* * *

Tony stared out of the hospital window, gazing down at the hustle and bustle of daily life below him, holding the brand new one in his arms. His new born baby boy. Tony sighed happily as the baby stirred, blinking up at him. It amazed him how much had changed in a matter of months. Maria Hill had been arrested on the spot and was still awaiting trial, though why there needed to even be a trial was beyond Tony, everyone knew she was guilty seeing as Reed had presented damning evidence, not to mention the fact that Banner was in fact alive and well and ready to testify against her. She was going down, and that was all that mattered. Tony had been offered the position as Director, but had declined, deferring to Bruce. He was done playing the hero, even more so being the leader. He'd seen what could happen, and now more than ever he had a reason to step down, at least where Iron Man was concerned. The media had handled his retirement rather peacefully, spending more time over Banner's miraculous back-from-the-dead story, and his promotion.

He turned as he heard Pepper stirring behind him, smiling as she looked over at them both. He quietly made his way back to the side of her bed, easing himself down next to her on the bed as she shuffled over a little, handing the tiny bundle to her. She beamed and cooed softly, stroking a finger against the baby's cheek. He gurgled and reached out to grab her finger and she sighed softly.

"Have you taken a blood test?" she asked Tony quietly, not looking at him.

Tony's smile slipped a little, but he draped his arm around Pepper's shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "No, I haven't, and I don't plan on doing so." Pepper shot him a confused glance and he continued. "Look at him; black hair, brown eyes, he's mine, Pep. Though, to be honest, he could have come out green with six tentacles and I'd still love him like he was mine."

Pepper stared up at him for a second, her eyes shining, before leaning up slightly to press a soft kiss to his lips.

"Oh dear, not in front of the child." The couple broke apart as a voice came from the doorway. Blake stood there, grinning at them both, leaning heavily on his cane. The battle to bring Tony back from the dead had hit him hard, even now seven months later, and he tended to rely on Mjölnir a little more than he had done. "How are we feeling today?"

Tony and Pepper had been visiting Peter and Mary-Jane in New York when Pepper had gone into labour, and Blake's hospital being the nearest, they had gone there. Pepper smiled at Blake, rocking the baby in her arms.

"We're both fine. Tired, but fine."

Blake nodded and hobbled over to her, taking the baby as she offered him out and chuckling. "Do we have a name yet?"

Tony smiled and nodded. "Don, I'd like you to meet Benjamin Isaac."

Blake grinned. "Very nice to meet you, Ben. May the Norns* look down on you with a smile and forever keep you from harm. However, I see they have already given you your father's looks, and for that I must apologise." He winked at Tony and handed the baby back to Pepper. "Now, there's a fairly excitable Parker outside waiting to see his pseudo-nephew, shall I let him in?"

Pepper laughed and Tony nodded.

"Yeah, bring the lad in." he said, easing Pepper back to lean against him again. Blake turned to leave the room and Pepper sighed happily. Tony kissed the top of her head and rested her cheek against her hair.

"Pepper?_"_

"Mmm?" she mumbled, infatuated with Ben once more.

"Do you love me?"

That caught her attention. She craned her neck around to look at him.

"You know I do." She said softly. He smiled and dipped his head to kiss her, pulling back just enough to breath across her lips.

"Will you do something for me then?"

She arched her eyebrow. "You mean something other than push something the size of a watermelon-"

"Pep-"

"Fine." She sighed. "Yes, what is it?"

He kissed her again and pulled a small box out of his jacket pocket, presenting it to her, his eyes sparkling as he broke the kiss.

"Will you marry me?"

**The End**

**(No, really)**

***The Norns are like the Fates of the Norse world.**


End file.
